A Slight Misunderstanding
by Pupu-Nini
Summary: After a slight misunderstanding results in Tomo and Kaori dating, emotions, secrets and friends begin to crumble. The strands of the love-web that reveals itself are strained as hectic situations bombard their once normal lives.
1. The Diary

Chapter 1: The Diary

Kaori slumped over in her desk blocking out Miss Yukari's voice. She was complaining, again, about her how miserable her life is. Nobody in the class was listening to what she was saying except Chiyo. Every once in a while a few boys might perk up when she mentioned the gym teacher, Nyamo. Kaori could care less, though. The only thing she wanted to focus on was the tall, mysterious girl by the window, Sakaki. For the longest time Kaori has had a crush on her, but she could never find the courage to talk to her about it. She was too shy, besides what were the chances that Sakaki would be attracted to girls.

Over and over again, in her head, Kaori played out the conversation she wanted to engage in with Sakaki. She imagined that after school ended she catch Sakaki when she was alone and ask to walk home with her. She would gladly accept and then they would start talking as they strolled. Kaori would then let the conversation smoothly drift to the topic of relationships. Then she would shyly admit her feelings for Sakaki. Sakaki would then reassure her that she has always had feelings for her, too. Then Sakaki would slowly lean over and invite Kaori's lips to share in their first kiss as a couple.

Kaori always blushed when the thought entered her mind. She wondered if she would ever have that talk with Sakaki. Part of knew it would never happen, but she still kept the thought alive.

After class Kaori saw Sakaki join her friends in the hall. Tomo, Yomi, Chiyo, Kagura and Osaka, they seemed pretty close. They were always together; occasionally Kaori would join them, but she could rarely work up the nerve to do so. She decided just passed by them in the hall, trying not to grab their attention.

At the end of the day Kaori debated with herself whether or not she would approach Sakaki and ask to walk home with her. She never chose to do so, why would today be any different? Kaori ended up walking home alone. When she arrived home she opened the front door only to enter into an empty house, her parents were busy at work. She walked upstairs into her room and dropped her school bag on the floor. She then sat on her bed. Next to her bed was her nightstand with two drawers. She slid open the top drawer. Inside was a little brown book that was buttoned shut; she grabbed the book along with a pen. Kaori unbuttoned the book, flipped to a blank page and began writing a new entry inside her diary. Her diary held all of her memories and secrets; it was mostly now filled with her feelings for Sakaki. She had never shown it to anyone before and was not planning to.

After she finished her entry she sat the book on her desk. She figured she should start on her homework, so she grabbed her bag and pulled out her books and paper to begin. Her homework was not hard, but it took long to do because she daydreamed often. She couldn't get Sakaki out of her mind. Eventually, she finished her work a few hours later. She hastily packed up her papers and books, but in unknowingly packed in her diary, too.

The next morning, outside the school she noticed Tomo and Chiyo talking. She smiled and waved as she passed by them. As she waved her shoe hit a rock on the ground and she tripped. All of her books flopped out onto the ground. Chiyo rushed over to help, but Tomo hesitated hoping that Chiyo would do the job. Kaori thanked Chiyo for the help and continued walking on her way to class. Chiyo walked back over to Tomo, but stopped when she noticed a brown book she left behind. Chiyo picked up the book and looked around for Kaori, but she seemed to have disappeared. She figured she would give back in class.

"What's that you have Chiyo?" Tomo asked.

"Oh, Kaorin forgot this book. I guess I'll give it to her later." Chiyo replied.

"Lemme see it. This doesn't look like a school book." Tomo grabbed the book out of Chiyo's little hands. She then unbuttoned it and flipped it open to a random page. Tomo's eyes widened at the content in the book.

"Tomo, what kind of book is it? Is it a story or something?" Chiyo wondered.

Tomo didn't know what to say. She read passages written by Kaori, except they were about her love for Sakaki. "Umm…yeah Chiyo it is a story. Except it is too mature for you, sorry." Tomo tried to cover up what she was reading, but she couldn't think very straight. She always knew that Kaori admired Sakaki, but just not in this way.

"Tomo, make sure you give the book to Kaorin, Ok? I am gonna go ahead to class." Chiyo spoke.

Tomo slammed the book shut and replied, "Heh…don't worry. I'll make sure to talk to Kaorin about her book. You can go on ahead." Tomo stayed behind to read more entries until the bell rang. She planned to talk to Kaori after class.


	2. A Misunderstanding

Chapter 2: A Misunderstanding

It was another day of school, starting off with Miss Yukari's class. The only problem was that she wasn't there yet. She was late. The students took advantage of the situation and used their time to socialize. Tomo normally would be the most talkative, but she thought this would be the perfect time to return Kaori's book. Kaori was sitting in her desk preparing for class, so Tomo approached her with the book hidden behind and back. She wanted question Kaori before she gave it back.

Tomo gave Kaori a suspicious look and then greeted her, "Hi, Kaorin."

"Good morning, Tomo." Kaori responded politely.

"So, Kaorin, why are you sitting at your desk alone? Why don't you go talk to someone, maybe Sakaki?"

"Huh? Nah, I'm fine sitting here. I don't want to bother her."

"What? You don't want to talk to her? Don't you like her?"

"Of course I like Sakaki, I like her a lot. She is my friend."

Tomo grinned, she was about reveal that she knew Kaori's secret. "You only think of her as a friend? HA! Well, this book says otherwise!" Tomo slapped down Kaori's diary on the desk.

Kaori's face turned bright red and she grew flustered, "H-h-how did you get this book?"

"You dropped it when you tripped. I thought I would be nice and return it to you."

"Nice? How is this interrogation nice?" Kaori snapped.

"Well, I was a little freaked out by what I read so I wanted to ask you some questions."

Kaori sighed and nervously looked at Tomo, "Alright, Tomo, I will explain it to you after school, come to my house."

"Gotcha!" Tomo winked and walked back to her seat.

Minutes later Miss Yukari arrived gasping for air. She had obviously been running. After she caught her breath she made up the usual excuse and began to lecture about pointless life lessons that were no help to teenagers. Kaori, rather than using this time to check out Sakaki and daydream, she was thinking about what she was going to tell Tomo. She wanted to make up a reasonable excuse about her diary. No ideas seemed to come to her. She thought about it for the whole class period and still could not think of anything believable. Then the bell rang. Miss Yukari continued to blabber on as the students stampeded towards the door. Tomo was at the front of the pack. Kaori went last to avoid any situations with her.

The end of the school day arrived faster than Kaori had hoped for. She didn't want to go home and see Tomo, but she did want to set everything straight. She walked silently thinking about the mess she was in. Just then, Kaori heard footsteps behind her. She expected to see Tomo, but the sight of Sakaki took her by surprise. "Uh, h-hello Sakaki." Kaori blushed.

"Hi, Kaorin. I'm glad that I caught you. I wanted to talk to you about something Tomo told me." Sakaki sounded serious.

Bad thoughts ran through Kaori's head when Sakaki mentioned Tomo. "T-tomo? What did she tell you?" Kaori was turning extremely flushed, she was shaking and her stomach was tingling. She didn't know if Tomo told or not, but she was dying from the thought of Sakaki knowing about her crush on her.

"Well, it's a little embarrassing to ask, but I didn't know if Tomo was lying or not. She said that you um…eh…you know. L-liked…girls..." Sakaki nervously played with her hair.

Kaori felt slightly relieved, she thought she could easily shake off this question by telling her that Tomo was lying. She was about to open her mouth, but stopped herself when she realized that it would be better to tell the truth. She figure this way Sakaki would know she was interested in girls. Maybe this might be a step closer to a relationship with her. She admitted the truth, "Uh, yes. It's true." Kaori braced herself expecting a shocked reaction.

Sakaki noticed how tense Kaori was. She stood smiling and joked, "I guess that means Tomo wasn't lying. That's a first!"

Kaori let down her guard and looked up at Sakaki, "Huh?"

"I saw you tense up like I was going to attack you or something. Don't worry. I don't see you as any different, well, except you like girls. Heh heh." Sakaki reassured her with another joke.

Kaori giggled and invited Sakaki to walk home with her. She agreed. They had a lively conversation as they strolled. Kaori was in heaven. She had never felt this close to Sakaki before. She thought that she might have seen her as a less secretive person. Eventually, they reached Kaori's house where she was to meet Tomo, but no one was there waiting. She guessed that Tomo forgot about it. Kaori stopped walking at the beginning of the walkway that lead to her front door. Before she started down the path Sakaki bent down to whisper in Kaori's ear. She said, "You know. I have always been suspicious of Yomi. Maybe you could hook up with her if you try."

Kaori laughed and responded, "Yeah, I would rather go out with Tomo! Ha ha!"

Sakaki smiled and waved bye as she left Kaori. Kaori returned her wave and walked to her front door. She got out her house key and stuck it in the door. Just as she turned it she heard a loud cry, "KAORIN!" She jumped and looked to her side. There was Tomo charging at her full force with her fist sticking out in front of her. Kaori screamed, but Tomo continued charging. She could have knocked Kaori to the ground, but stopped with her fist just inches away from Kaori's nose. "What the heck is wrong with you!" Kaori scolded.

"Wrong with me? Hah, you're just mad because you lack my sneaky skills!" Tomo said boastingly.

"Skills? Those are not skills! Those are annoying!"

"Well, your annoying, too!" Tomo stuck out her tongue and then continued speaking, "You left me waiting hear at your house for at least ten minutes!"

Kaori calmed down a bit and began speaking in normal tone. "Wait. You where here the whole time?"

"Duh! You told me to come. I was hiding on the side of your house. I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you did surprise me, but anyway I guess you're still wondering about he book then. Well, I'll explain it all now." Kaori wanted to hurry up and explain everything to Tomo before she blew it all out of proportion. She began to explain, "Okay it all goes like this…" Tomo cut her off there.

"I know how it goes. I heard what you said about me. That you would like to date me."

Kaori began to panic. "No no no." she blurted out. Tomo didn't listen and she continued on with her story.

"I pieced it together myself. You panicked when I read your book. You didn't want ME to see it because those entries were about me. Sakaki was a cover name. I understand the whole situation."

"No listen." Kaori pleaded, but Tomo was too absorbed in her own theories.

"Kaorin, I'm a nice guy…er girl. I will give anything one shot. I normally would date a guy, but I don't want to crush your fragile heart. I will set up one test date on um… Thurs…no Friday. This Friday at 7:00." Tomo hugged the shaken Kaori and ran off.

"What the heck just happened?" Kaori thought to herself, "How the heck did I get a date with Tomo?" She stood staring into nothingness with her jaw dropped open. "I am a magnet for misfortune…"


	3. Super Spies Part I

Keep in mind that when I write Osaka's lines I try to give her that southern accent she has. So don't think I misspelled anything. Bah, why am I telling you. You're smart enough to figure it out.

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Chapter 3: Super Spies (Part I)

"One day before the date." Thought Kaori, "One more day. Grr, I don't want this, I want to go out with Sakaki. Well, I don't have to show up, but what if I hurt Tomo's feelings? I hate this." School had just ended. So far she hadn't dealt with Tomo or any embarrassing situations. She walked with her head hung low, to avoid catching anyone's attention. Practically looking straight at the ground she didn't notice that up ahead was Tomo and her friends. She didn't make it past them; Tomo grabbed her by the arm and drug her into the small group.

"Did I tell you guys that I had a date with Kaorin?" Tomo asked in a voice better fit for an announcement.

Everyone, but Osaka, stood in shock. Kaori felt embarrassed beyond comprehension. It was bad enough that Tomo found out her secret, but now she was announcing their date. What will they think of her? She hated having to deal with so much confusion.

"Tomo, are you aware that both you and Kaorin are girls?" Yomi questioned.

"Of course I know that. I thought I should give it a try, after all I don't want to make her sad." Tomo answered

"Sad? What do you mean?"

"Ha, that's all I'm gonna say for now. I don't want to give everything away."

Kaori was so happy Tomo stopped talking. She lifted her red face to the group and noticed Sakaki giving her thumbs-up and a smile. This made her feel a little better, knowing that Sakaki was supporting her. Another thing she noticed was Yomi, she was giving Kaori the nastiest look. She wondered why.

"Hey," said Osaka, "Does this mean I can go out with Tomo If Kaorin doesn't stay with her?"

Kagura glanced at Osaka and then crossed her arms. "Why, Osaka? Do you want to date Tomo?"

"No, I just wanted t'know if I was allowed ta."

The group continued to talk and Kaori continued to stand silent. Later that night, Yomi was upset. She tried to stay cool when she heard about Tomo's date with Kaori, but now she was free to express her emotions. "I can't believe it!" Yomi snarled, "Of all people to choose for a date, she chooses Kaorin! I have known her longer! We where child-hood friends!" She thrashed around her room tossing pillows and beating on her bed. The more she thought about it the worse she felt, until she stopped her rampage and sat down on her bed. Her eyes started to tear up. "How am I supposed to know if I have a chance at Tomo anymore? What if they start to get serious? I need to find out what they do on their date, but I can't follow them around." She thought about. Then the perfect idea popped into her head. She immediately called up Tomo for the details on her date. A few minutes later Yomi hung up the phone. She wrote down the only thing Tomo told her: Friday night at 7:00, first stop is the park. Yomi couldn't spy on them, but someone else could. She picked up the phone and dialed Osaka's number.

The next night, at quarter until 7:00, Osaka arrived at Yomi's house. She rang the doorbell. DING! She giggled. Osaka began pounding the doorbell to hear it ding. The front door swung open. "I'm here, I'm here." Yomi said.

"Hi! I brought Chiyo-chan!" Osaka grinned and Chiyo waved at Yomi.

"Chiyo! Why!"

Chiyo looked up at Yomi. "Should I have not come?"

"No, no. It's fine. It's just that you might be up late. Is that Okay with your parents?"

"Yes, It's all fine as long as I stick with Osaka and you."

"Oh, Chiyo, Osaka. I should have told you earlier, but I actually need you to do me a favor. I want you to follow Tomo and Kaorin around tonight."

"Oh, I get it. Like spies." Osaka said.

"Ooh, I want to be a spy." Chiyo squealed with joy.

"I guess you could say that. Well, anyway here is where you should start." Yomi handed them the paper with Tomo's date plan. "See you guys later and good luck." Yomi shut the door.

"Look, Chiyo-chan, our first mission." Osaka wowed.

"Cool, I'll hold on to the paper. We probably shouldn't lose it." Chiyo grabbed the paper from Osaka and began to stuff it in her pocket.

"Nooooo!" Osaka lunged at Chiyo and grabbed the paper. She crumpled it up and threw it. "Every spy knows that their mission note will self-destruct. I just saved ya from a nasty burn."

"I don't think it's gonna explode."

Osaka stared at the crumpled paper. "It must have a timer or sumthin'."

Meanwhile, Kaori was preparing for her date with Tomo. She didn't want to get dressed up because she didn't see it as a big event, so she decided on a casual pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt with pink sleeves. The time was 6:50 and Tomo would arrive any minute. Kaori look in her mirror and began to apply mint lip-gloss. She stopped herself. "Why should I wear lip-gloss," she thought, "I'm not planning on a kiss. I should make my lips less noticeable." She rubbed off the lip-gloss. Just as she finished, the doorbell rang. Tomo arrived! She ran downstairs to answer it.

"Hi, Kaorin, ready?" Tomo greeted. She, too, was wearing casual clothes, a pair of slacks and a blue T-shirt.

Kaori blushed at the thought of going on a date, even if it was with Tomo. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Perfect! Then let's go to the park."

"The park?"

"Yeah, I see dates at the park on T.V. a lot. I figured it would be a good start." Tomo explained.

Kaori headed to the park with Tomo, where Osaka and Chiyo were waiting for them.

"Chiyo-chan, what time is it?" Osaka asked

Chiyo glanced at her watch. "It is 7:04."

"Bein' a spy is hard work. I dunno know if I have the patience." Osaka sighed

"We have only been here for ten minutes. We were walking the rest of the time."

" Wow, you're really good with keepin' time. Ya could be an expert spy in no time."

Chiyo's eyes lit up. "You really think so, Osaka?"

"No, I know so. After this mission, I think we should use our skills ta spy on Mr. Tadakichi "

"Why him?"

"Well, I suspect he's tryin' ta murder ya in your sleep."

Chiyo froze in fear, "M-Mr. Tadakichi?"


	4. Super Spies Part II

I would like to thank Mune, my friend, for helping me with this story. She proof read it and fixed some mistakes.

Also, thanks to you people who gave me reviews. They really encourage me to continue writing. Ah, I did also notice that dark lord miho reviewed on every chapter. Thanks.

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Chapter 4: Super Spies (Part II)

"Wow, this is a fun date." Tomo exhaled.

"Huh? We have only just arrived at the park." Kaori stated.

"I know. I'm just trying to set the mood."

"If you say so."

Kaori walked with Tomo keeping a small distance. She still didn't feel too comfortable with Tomo yet, but she was getting used to it as the moments passed. As for Tomo, she already felt close to Kaori, but not like an attraction. She felt close to her in a different way, almost like they had something in common, but Tomo was nothing like Kaori. Tomo wasn't shy or quite, she was the complete opposite. Even though Tomo didn't understand her feelings she went along with them anyway. She inched closer to Kaori, but Kaori inched away. It was almost like Tomo had an invisible force repelling her away, like when you get two of the same poles on a magnet.

Peeping over a nearby bush, Osaka and Chiyo spotted the two.

"Targets in sight." Chiyo whispered pretending to hold binoculars.

"Excellent, narrate the targets' actions." Osaka instructed.

"The targets are walking…ok, now they are purchasing frozen goods."

"Frozen goods?"

"You know, ice cream."

Osaka struggled with herself, "Oh, I want some, too…NO! We need ta do this! Chiyo-chan, continue."

"They are sitting on a bench to consume the goods. Targets are stationary. Now's our chance!"

The two novice spies crept away from the bush that concealed them in favor of one located closer to Kaori and Tomo. Now they could hear what they were saying.

"Tomo, thank you for buying the ice cream. I'm sorry I didn't bring my money." Kaori apologized.

"No problem, after all, you can pay me back with 10 interest for each day." Tomo replied.

"How about instead, I just pay for the next date." Kaori suggested. Immediately, she noticed what she had just said and covered her face in embarrassment. The cup of ice cream sat in her lap. "No, no, no. I didn't mean that! I'll just pay you back with interest!"

Tomo started giggling at her mistake. "Hahaha! Kaorin? Are you already planning for another date?" She dropped her ice cream on the ground in her excitement. "NO! My ice cream!"

Kaori lowered her hands. She looked at Tomo's ice cream on the ground and grinned.

Tomo noticed the grin and commented, "Wow, you're smiling! You never smile."

"Well, it was funny when you dropped your ice cream."

"Huh, funny? No! It was funny when you dropped your ice cream!" Tomo said playfully.

Kaori was baffled. "I didn't drop my…" Tomo reached over and knocked the cold creamy desert right out of her lap.

Kaori looked at her fallen ice cream then looked over at the mischievous Tomo. She smiled and said, "I guess this means I don't owe you anything."

The two girls broke out in laughter. Kaori hadn't laughed with another person in a long time. She felt happy. Tomo had a unique quality about her that made Kaori feel comfortable and carefree. She couldn't figure out exactly what it was, but she now enjoyed Tomo's company rather than it being an annoyance.

"Wow, Osaka!" Chiyo exclaimed, "Look at Kaorin! She is acting really different! Why doesn't she act like this normally?"

Osaka looked at Chiyo and said, " I wonder if I can eat that ice cream on the ground. There is five-minute rule. Right?"

Chiyo returned Osaka's statement with a disgusted look, "Osaka, it's a five-second rule. "

"Oh, has it been five seconds?"

"Yup, it's been about a minute." Chiyo said.

Osaka shrugged her shoulders and smiled blankly. She continued to spy, but when she looked up their targets were gone. They left for their next destination. Osaka and Chiyo spotted them walking and followed.

"Tomo, where are we going next?" Kaori asked.

"I thought we would walk around a little and just hang out. I'm not really good at making plans and this is all I could think to do." Tomo smiled.

"Well, it's pretty good for a first date." Kaori felt good saying that, "first date". She never thought she would get to be on a "first date" while still in high school, especially with another girl. She didn't care if that girl was Tomo. In fact, she was glad to go out with someone like her, someone she felt comfortable being around.

Not far behind, Osaka and Chiyo were keeping mental notes on everything Tomo and Kaori did or said. They followed the two girls into an active shopping district. Friday nights were very busy for both daters and avid shoppers. The large crowds created many obstacles for the spies, but they managed to push their way trough. Ahead of Tomo and Kaori, though, was a larger obstacle than a crowd. They spotted a disturbing site headed their way, Mr. Kimura.

"Hi, girls!" Kimura shouted, his jaw drooping as if in a constant state of shock.

The two stopped out of politeness. "H-hi, Mr. Kimura." Tomo forced out.

"What are you two doing here?" The spooky man questioned.

Kaori took the question, "We are just walking around…"

"Wow, me, too! This is the perfect place to find young high school girls like you!" He seemed to stare off onto space when he mentioned girls, "Mind if I follow you?"

"NO!" Tomo shouted.

"Do you mean, 'No, you don't mind' or "No, I can't follow'?"

"I mean 'No, you can't follow'!"

"Why not?" Kimura whined.

"BECAUSE…"Before Tomo could finish, Kaori answered, "Because we're on a date…" She was surprised at what she admitted, but she didn't regret it.

"What did you say Kaorin, my sweet?" Kimura replied.

Kaori spoke up over the noisy crowds "I said: because we're on a date!"

A few people turned around and looked a bit shocked. Some gave the girls dirty looks and other surprised. Kaori ignored it; she decided that there was no point in being embarrassed and stood firm on what she said. Mr. Kimura was the most shocked of the people, though. He murmured to himself with his mouth gaping open, " Kaorin, my sweet Kaorin. She likes girls…that is so hot."

The two girls took advantage of his momentary shock and darted away from the perverted teacher. Osaka and Chiyo, too, dashed by the teacher, with the fear of awkward conversation with him. As they approached Tomo and Kaori, Chiyo noticed something unusual. Kaori inching closer to Tomo, she slowly was reaching her hand down. It met with Tomo's hand.

"Osaka! Look! Their hands!" Chiyo pointed out.

Osaka took an inspection from the distance. Her eyes squinted and she said, "Wow, does this mean they are boyfriend and girlfriend? If so, then who is the boy? I think Tomo would be because I think she is really a boy in disguise. If I were a boy in disguise I would want to be Tomo."

As usual Chiyo met Osaka's weird comments with an even weirder look. She tried to get closer to them to listen to their conversation, but the noise from the crowds polluted the air. The next thing she knew, they disappeared.

"Oh no! We lost them!" Chiyo cried.

Osaka turned to Chiyo and frowned. "Chiyo, you're a sucky spy."

Chiyo slouched over and said, "You don't have to be so harsh."

Now in a quieter place, beyond the herds of people, Tomo and Kaori walked together holding hands. Kaori never held another persons hand in this way. She may have held hands with boys during a dance in the sports festival, but never in meaningful way.

"Kaorin, you are acting very weird tonight. I mean in a good way." Tomo said with a serious tone.

"I have? How?" Kaori wanted her to explain.

"Well, you are normally quiet and shy, but tonight you're not. Back there you admitted to Mr. Kimura, of all people, that you were on a date with me and then you started holding my hand."

Kaori smiled thinking about how different she acted. She liked to hear Tomo point it out. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"So, Kaorin, what would you say to another date?"

"Another date?"

"Yeah, remember when I said this was a test date? Well, I liked this test date, so I want to go on a another date, but this time a real one."

Kaori didn't know what to say. She sort of wanted to go, but what about Sakaki? Would this be like betraying her? "Um…I"

"What about next Friday at the same time? You know 7:00."

Kaori debated with herself. Then she reached a split second decision, "No."

"No?" Tomo repeated in a disappointed voice.

"You didn't let me finish. No, how about at 6:00 instead."

Tomo's face lit up. "Sure, that's even better!"

It was now around 8:30 and it about time to end the test date. Tomo walked Kaori home and told her to expect a longer date next time because it would be the real thing. They hugged bye and Tomo went on her way home. Meanwhile, Chiyo and Osaka walked back to Yomi's house to give her the news on the date.


	5. Thoughts

Chapter 5: Thoughts

Tomo and Kaori's date was now over and the two spies, Osaka and Chiyo had just arrived at Yomi's house to tell her the information.

"Chiyo-chan, can I ding the doorbell?" Osaka asked.

"Maybe we should knock this time." Chiyo suggested. She didn't want to annoy anyone with a chain of dings from the doorbell.

Osaka knocked twice. "Hmm, I think the doorbell was more fun."

The door swung open almost immediately. It was almost as if Yomi was camping out by the door. "Hi guys, did you get any good information?"

"Um, yeah except we lost Tomo and Kaorin. We couldn't find them so we just came over to tell you what we got. Sorry." Chiyo apologized.

Yomi was not very pleased, but she knew not to expect too much from them. "That's fine, as long as you tried."

Chiyo and Osaka smiled. "Chiyo-chan is goin' ta tell ya what happened. I'm not very good at explainin' things." Osaka noted.

Chiyo nodded and began, "At first they went to the park and ate some ice cream together. Tomo bought it, but said Kaorin had to pay her back with 10 interest everyday. Ooh! Kaorin started acting really different when Tomo bought her ice cream, too."

"What do you mean by different?" Yomi questioned.

"Um, well, she was acting like a normal person-not that I think she is weird-but like, she was laughing and talking. She wasn't shy." Chiyo struggled to explain.

"Oh." Yomi murmured. She wondered what Tomo was said to her to make her act so different. She was wanted to ask Chiyo, but kept silent afraid the answer might hurt her further.

The young girl continued with her observations, " They left the park and went to a shopping district. It was really busy. We had trouble keeping up with them and couldn't hear them too well. They ran into Mr. Kimura there."

"Mr. Kimura?" Yomi repeated.

"Yup, he stopped and talked to them. I think he asked to follow them, but I'm not very sure. Anyway, Kaori said something to him that made him freeze. I didn't hear it, though. They ran away from him and then we lost them."

"Oh, is that everything?"

"No, Chiyo-chan forgot one thing." Osaka bent down a bit and whispered into Chiyo's ear.

"Oh, yeah thanks Osaka. Right before we lost them we saw them hold hands."

Yomi felt a knot in her stomach. "Heh, thanks guys for doing this." She forced a smile on her face. "Good night, I will see you later."

Osaka and Chiyo returned her good night and said bye. They left unaware of the pain their news brought Yomi. She closed the door behind them and walked slowly to her bedroom. Her head was hanging low and her steps were dragging. Yomi shut her bedroom door and threw herself on the bed.

Yomi turned on her side and rested her hands underneath her pillow. The pillows soft underside felt cool on her hands. It was somewhat relaxing. She slightly curled her legs and began gazing forward into space as thoughts flooded her mind.

She recalled her first year of high school, when she was still unsure of her feelings for Tomo. Although, they had been friends for many years before then, Yomi never actually felt an attraction to Tomo or anyone. As a middle school girl she always imagined herself with a handsome high school boy. Having a girl as her partner had never crossed her mind before, not before that first year.

It seemed like everything changed so fast when the time for high school came. She had new teachers, new classes and new feelings. Some of the first thoughts in her mind were of getting a boyfriend. She wanted someone to be with, but none of the boys she saw seemed to spark her interest. After some months of searching for a guy that looked good for her, she gave up. Nobody seemed to appeal to her. She hadn't dated anybody yet, though, mostly because she couldn't even vision herself with a guy anymore. For some reason it felt unnatural when she thought about it. She figured a break from guy hunting would be essential.

During her break, she spent plenty of time with her friends, but mostly Tomo. She enjoyed every minute she was with her. Even though it appeared Tomo got on her nerves a good chunk of the time, Yomi never really minded it. She still pleasured the seconds spent with her best friend. She began feeling confused soon afterwards.

One night she had a dream that she still remembers very vividly today. The dream was about her with Tomo; they were just visiting together at in Yomi's room. It all changed when the two were lying on the bed. Tomo seemed to be moving closer. Slowly inching her way to Yomi's lips until they met in a gentle kiss. That was when Yomi burst out of her dream. Of course she ignored it and thought only of it as a stupid dream. Later, through out the year she continued having similar dreams involving Tomo. They got more and more detailed. Yomi found herself sometimes in class unconsciously admiring Tomo. This started to worry her and cause her to question herself. After months of confusion and denial she accepted that she had feelings for Tomo. By this time the year was nearing it's end.

Yomi still lying on her bed curled up smiled. She smiled at how she used to be, unsure and worried. Her eyes began swelling with tears. " I could have been the one with Tomo tonight." she thought, "I had two years to tell her how I felt, but I was to afraid of her reaction. I should have told her, I had no reason to worry. She felt the same as me about girls." Yomi dug her nail into her hand under the pillow. She felt she deserved the pain because she let herself down. She missed out on her chance to tell Tomo that they belong together, but she never would have guessed Tomo felt the same way about girls. Yomi got the pillow she was resting on and covered her head. She wanted to muffle her sounds of sorrow as she wept.


	6. A Little Investigation

I have a few things to say. One, I hope you liked the fifth chapter. I think it was a little much and it didn't really fit too well with the other chapters, but it was kind of important because it gave reason for Yomi's feelings for Tomo. Second, I think this story is starting to lose its humor and is becoming more serious. Do you think it is? Do you like it this way? I need to know. I would like it, also, if you point out anything that seems too unrealistic, such as interactions between people. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter 6: A Little Investigation

It has been almost a week since Tomo and Kaori went out on their date. Since then the two have been spending more time together. They talk more in their free time and sit together at lunch. Everyone has noticed the new friendship between the two, especially Yomi. She had tried to avoid them as a much as possible, but had difficulty since they share the same classes. She was unhappy with Kaori being with Tomo and it pained her to see them together. She felt almost as if Kaori was her replacement. She was the one who used to sit with Tomo at lunch; she was the one that Tomo always spoke to in her free time. Tomo didn't even ask to copy her homework anymore. Instead she copied Kaori's.

Yomi sat with her friends at lunch trying to block out Tomo and Kaori who sat only a few seats down. They were sitting next to each other giggling and talking almost ignoring the others at the table. Sakaki and Chiyo were sitting next to them and Yomi was stuck between Osaka and Kagura. The homemade diet meal that sat in front of her was the only thing that kept her attention away from them, everybody else was busy eating and observing the two noisy girls. They were still a little shocked that Tomo went out with Kaori. Even more shocking to them was the time the two were spending together. It was almost like they had a close relationship. Never before their date did Kaori ever sit at the table with them. Tomo was the one who invited her over everyday until she made it a habit. She never seemed to laugh before either, or act so open; it was like she was a totally different person now. She was always seen with her friend Chihiro, but not lately. Suddenly out of nowhere Osaka popped a question. " Hey Tomo, d'ya like girls or guys or both?"

Tomo stopped chatting with Kaori and looked over at Osaka. "Umm… What do you mean?" She tried to dodge the question.

"Uh, lemme see…hmm…" Osaka thought of a way to explain to Tomo what she meant. "I mean, um, would ya ratha kiss a girl or a boy or are both good with ya?"

"Osaka, you're confusing me." She tried to dodge the question again, but Osaka was persistent.

"Ooh, I think I got it. Would ya ratha have sex with a girl or a-" Osaka's mouth was immediately covered by Yomi's hand.

"Heh heh. Osaka I don't think this is an appropriate conversation for lunch beside children are at the table." Yomi said. She saw how uncomfortable the question was making Tomo. She let go of Osaka and began a question of her own, one that was less embarrassing, but almost as intrusive. "So, Tomo how was your little date with Kaorin."

Tomo glanced at Kaori and smiled. She smiled, too. "The date? Oh, it was fun."

"Fun? Is that all? What did you do?"

"We did stuff."

Kagura looked at Kaori smiling as Tomo spoke. She interrupted the current conversation. "Kaorin, I noticed that you have been acting different lately. Does this have anything to do with Tomo?"

"I guess." Kaori answered. She didn't want to say that Tomo made her feel comfortable, people might get the wrong idea. But did it really matter? She heard what Osaka was asking Tomo, she knew that people were thinking it, but she just didn't want to admit it to everyone. Sakaki already found out, she knows for a fact that she prefers girls. Kaori didn't want to confirm everyone's suspicions.

The personal questions about Tomo and Kaori stopped after that. Everybody switched topics. Sakaki brought up kittens and Chiyo tried to start an intelligent conversation about college plans, but was interrupted by Osaka's senseless comments. Yomi sat silent. She still wanted to know more about Tomo and Kaori relations, but she would ask later when she had Tomo to herself.

Soon, the day had ended and it was time for everyone to go home. Yomi thought this would be a good time to talk to Tomo, maybe she would invite her to walk home with her. She was about to do so when she noticed a lonely girl walking past her. It was Chihiro, Kaori's friend. She was alone and looked rather depressed. Now that she thought of it, Kaori had not been with her very much since she started hanging out with Tomo. Yomi decided to set her sites on Chihiro instead of Tomo, at least for today anyway.

"Hey, Chihiro." Yomi greeted from behind.

Chihiro quickly turned around with a smile on her face. "Yes?"

"Um, I just wanted to talk to you about something. Mind if I walk with you?"

"Of course not. I would be pretty happy to talk."

"Great. I wanted to ask you a few things about Kaorin."

Her face turned serious. "Oh, what about her?"

"Well, Are you two still friends? She has been with Tomo a lot lately and I noticed you were a little sad looking."

"Oh, yeah we're still friends, but told her to spend more time with Tomo. I think it is good she finally has a…umm, another friend."

"I dunno, they seem pretty close to me. I think they might be more than friends. After all they did go on a date." Yomi mentioned.

"Uh…" Chihiro didn't what to say.

Yomi sighed. "Chihiro, do you know anything about Kaori preferences. You know like relationship wise?"

Chihiro hesitated to answer. She did know some things about Kaori. What she knew is what Kaori told her, though, she told her to keep it a secret. "I do know, but I don't think Kaorin would like it if I told you."

Yomi tried to reason with her. "I don't think it would make much of a difference. She is going around with Tomo and everybody is starting to get ideas. I won't tell anybody either. So you don't need to worry."

Chihiro gave in. "I guess. I will only tell you one thing though and that is what you asked. She does like girls."

"Thanks, Chihiro." Yomi said. They continued to walk, but soon split up to go to their homes. On her way home, Yomi thought about Tomo and Kaori's relationship. "Now, I know what Kaori likes. I am pretty sure Tomo is the same way, but then wouldn't be girlfriends by now? Hey went on a date, they held hands, I was sure they would announce it sometime. Hmm…maybe Tomo isn't serious. Maybe she just wants a close friend that she can relate to. I might still have a chance! I can be that close friend. Well, I would rather be closer than a close friend. I bet she never gave a thought about me being like her." Yomi giggled to herself with excitement at the possibility of Tomo still being available. She arrived home and planned to walk home with Tomo tomorrow. It could be her chance to get closer to her.


	7. Chihiro's Problems

Ok, I finally got this chapter up. I think I waited too long. Oh well, sorry. I got some really helpful reviews about last chapter. Thanks for the advice.

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Chapter 7: Chihiro's Problems

Yomi was lying on her bed in the dark. She wore a pair of comfortably loose-fitting, red pajamas. Beside her, on the nightstand were her glasses, safely folded and within reaching distance, in the case she needed them. Her back was propped up on her pillow and her legs were stretched over the covers of the bed, crossed over one another. She gazed outside her window thinking about the conversation she would have with Tomo tomorrow. It was important to her that she was ready for any reaction Tomo might have, so she played out the many different scenarios in her mind. Normally talking to Tomo was not a big deal for her, but this talk would be different. She wanted to discuss delicate issues such as Tomo's relationship with Kaori and the possibility of a future relationship together. She didn't want to screw everything up by saying the wrong thing or making Tomo get the wrong idea about her.

Yomi's focus began to drift away as she felt the need for sleep. She sat up and fluffed her pillow to get out the imprint she left. Then she neatly placed it flat on the bed ready to rest her head on. She then pulled up her covers and slid her body underneath. Then she sat her head on the pillow. Her pajama bottoms got ruffled in the process so she straightened them. As she did this senseless thoughts began to pop into her head, "I'm wearing pajama bottoms. If end up with Tomo in the future will I still wear them or will I wear a gown? What about a tank top? Nah, I couldn't get away with that unless a drop some weight, but Tomo wouldn't care what I look like or…" She slipped into slumber wondering about the thoughts that ran across her mind.

The next morning Yomi walked on her way to school and felt confident about what she would say to Tomo, she even wished Tomo was with her now so that she could talk to her. She continued walking with her confidence until something caught her attention. Up ahead, she could Chihiro walking. Again she appeared to be depressed, her head was hung down and her steps were slow, Yomi speed up a bit to catch up to her.

"Hey, Chihiro!" Yomi called out. She saw Chihiro perk her head up and stopped to let Yomi catch up.

"Hello, Yomi." Chihiro said in a soft voice.

"You look sad again, Chihiro." Yomi said in a concerned voice.

Chihiro shrugged her shoulders. "I'm only a little sad."

"Hmm…" Yomi didn't know what to say to make her feel better. She wasn't the best at situations like this.

Chihiro started to explain her problems when Yomi stood silent. "Kaorin used to walk with me to school everyday, but now she walks with Tomo. I have been walking alone for almost a week now."

Yomi's expression turned slightly depressed. She opened her mouth to begin speaking, but nothing came out. She didn't want to say anything just yet.

Chihiro continued. "Also, she spends every lunch with Tomo and leaves me alone." Her eyes began to sparkle with the formation of tears. "And the worst part is that Tomo calls her Kaorin, too! I called her Kaorin first!" she began to sniffle. "Everybody else just started it because I said it! She let me call her that! Nobody even asked her if she wanted to be called that! They don't care about her!" her voice was strained; she was trying to prevent herself from crying.

Yomi looked down at Chihiro and saw her trying to hold in her tears. She knew that she had been keeping all these emotions corked up inside for a while. Yomi wished a little that she wouldn't cry because it would be more awkward for her, but at the same time she wanted her to cry so she could release her emotions.

"Ch-chihiro, I'm sorry. I didn't know that it meant so much to you to call her Kaorin. I will have everyone stop if you want." Yomi tried to cheer her up.

Chihiro looked at the ground so that Yomi would not see her fighting her feelings back. "No, it's ok. The name has lost its meaning already. I just want Kaorin to be with me again. It's not enough to only see in her in class I can't even talk to her during class. I miss her." The struggle against her tears was becoming more difficult as she thought about Kaori.

"You two must be really close friends."

"Yeah, friends." Chihiro replied disappointingly, "No more than fr-" She lost the battle with her emotions, stopped walking and dropped her bag on the ground. A long cry came from the depressed girl and tears poured from hers eyes. As, she gasped for breaths of air; she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform.

Yomi felt very uncomfortable now, afraid that she might say something wrong and make her feel worse. She kept her mouth shut and nervously lifted her shaky hand to Chihiro's back and started to gently rub her hoping that it would bring some sort of comfort. After a few minutes Chihiro began to calm down. She lowered her hands form her face, two sparkling lines were running down from eyes over her cheeks. She had stopped weeping, but there was evidence of her little burst of emotion. Chihiro wiped away the tear lines and, still sniffling, looked up at Yomi.

"Thanks."

Yomi smiled awkwardly. "S-sure, anytime."

Later that day, at lunch, Yomi's confidence form earlier seemed to have dissolved when she saw Kaori and Tomo sitting together. She now started to feel doubt that she could muster enough courage to face Tomo in conversation. Seeing them made her think that maybe they were closer than they said.

"They could be girlfriends, but in secret. After all, what would the other students say if they announced a relationship between two members of the same sex? Even if they announced it among friends, things have a way of traveling around the school." Yomi was staring at the mysterious couple as she pondered the possible relationship that could exist between the two. This caught the eye of Osaka couldn't resist to ask why she was glaring at them.

"Yomi, are ya ok?" The concerned girl asked. "You're starin' into space, sorta like I do."

"Huh!" Yomi jumped out of her thoughts back to reality. "Oh, yeah I'm fine Osaka. Thanks for asking, though."

"No problem. We can't have ya endin' up like me. Then it would be hard ta tell us apart."

Yomi smiled at Osaka and diverted attention to Chihiro. She was sitting at her desk alone, like she had been doing since Tomo came between them. Her head was down; looking the food was she playing with. She looked up noticing Yomi, then smiled and quickly looked back down. Yomi thought she should see how Chihiro has been feeling since she cried earlier. She lifted herself form her desk and walked over.

"Where's Yomi going?" Kagura asked Osaka.

"I dunno, maybe to the bathroom or somthin'." Osaka replied.

Yomi sat down in the empty desk beside Chihiro.

"Hi, Yomi." Chihiro greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Chihiro." Yomi said smiling.

"So, what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to ask you how you were doing."

Chihiro grinned. "I'm doing fine now. I probably wouldn't be doing so well, though, if you weren't with me this morning."

Yomi blushed. "Nah, I think you would have done fine without me. All I did was rub your back a little."

"Yeah, but it was still comforting. It was just nice to have someone there for me." She looked at Kaori across as if she was wishing that she were the one that had been with her earlier. Yomi glanced over, too.

"I could talk to her about you." Yomi offered and crossed her arms.

Chihiro turned to Yomi. "No thanks."

"Then why don't you talk to her?" She leaned towards Chihiro and her glasses glared.

"No, I don't want to bother her, she looks happy with Tomo."

Yomi sat back. "You two are friends, she won't mind if you talk to her. Plus, you two have hardly talked in the past week, she might be happy to hear form you."

Chihiro scratched her. "I dunno…"

Yomi leaned towards Chihiro again and started talking in a low voice. "After school today I am going to get Tomo to walk home with me. You should take that chance to walk with Kaori."

Chihiro smiled. "You called her Kaori."

"Yeah, you told me this morning that you didn't like other people calling her that. Uh, why is that?"

"No reason really. It just makes me feel closer to her when I'm the only one saying it." Chihiro blushed as she realized that she might have worded her sentence the wrong way. "You know, closer as a friend not the other way."

"The other way?" Yomi repeated.

"Heh heh, the other as in like…well…never mind. I don't even know what I was saying. What is the other way anyway? I don't know. Why did I even say that?" She rambled one nervously and Yomi gave her a strange, confused look. Chihiro regretted even answering the question now and lowered her head.

"Ok, I don't really get what your trying to say, but what do you think about walking with her after school. It would be a good chance to visit."

She rose up a little. "Sure, I would like to walk with her."

Yomi rose out of the desk next to Chihiro. "Good, I will go tell them tell them that we are going to walk with them."

Chihiro jolted up half way out of the seat. "You haven't asked them yet? I thought it was a definite plan."

Yomi smiled. "Don't worry about it."

Chihiro watched Yomi walk over to the two girls. She couldn't hear what Yomi was saying to them, but it appeared she was asking. Tomo nodded her head and pointed at Yomi. Kagura slapped Tomo's hand down and it seemed like she was scolding her. Laughing at Tomo was Kaori, she then looked at Chihiro and smiled, Chihiro smiled back. Everything seemed to have been set up.


	8. On The Way Home

I'm really sorry about the slow update. I was without a computer for two weeks and then had to work on a major project for school. I will try to update the next few chapters quicker to make up for it.

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Chapter 8: On The Way Home

School had ended. Yomi was anxiously awaiting Tomo to accompany her in the walk home. She stood just outside the classroom in the hall. Bunches of kids emptied out of their classes crowding the narrow walkway. She searched through the crowds the best she could, hoping to spot her dark haired friend. While skimming the crowd she noticed Chihiro and Kaori walking together, but no Tomo. After a minute or two the mob of students had passed. Tomo was still nowhere to be found. Yomi turned around and took a peek inside the classroom. It was empty. She leaned against the wall and sat her bag down then sighed. "Maybe Tomo doesn't want to see me." She thought, a feeling of worthlessness crept up on her.

"Yomi wait!" It was Tomo. She was running down the hall. Yomi's negative feelings melted away at the sound of her voice.

"Wait up Yomi!" She continued to shout as she ran. "Don't go!"

Yomi frowned. She wasn't going anywhere, why was Tomo shouting for her to wait? "Tomo, I'm not even moving."

She stopped in front of Yomi and smiled. "I know. I just felt like shouting it. Seems kind of dramatic doesn't it?"

Yomi shrugged, but was grateful that Tomo shouted out to her helping squash the hurtful feeling. "Yup, very dramatic. Um, where were you?" She picked up her bag and motioned at Tomo to begin walking.

Tomo followed along. "Oh, I went out of the class looking for you. I thought that you went with the crowd."

"Well at least you found me."

Their voices echoed in the empty halls of the school. As they passed each classroom Tomo took a turned her head to look inside. She knew no one occupied the room, but she looked anyway just to satisfy herself. Yomi smiled to herself as Tomo flipped her head from side to side observing the emptiness of each room.

"I'm getting dizzy." Tomo said closing her eyes in hope of beating the dizziness. She swayed a bit in her steps.

"You should be more careful." She reached her hand out to Tomo's shoulder to keep her steady.

Tomo opened her eyes and looked up at Yomi. "You know, it's nice to get to see you for a change. I was starting to miss you, Yomi."

Yomi removed her hand from Tomo's shoulder. "Thanks, Tomo." Just as she was beginning to feel more comfortable on this walk the words Tomo spoke quickly made remember that there was more reason to the walk than just visiting.

Yomi wanted to enjoy the last few minutes walking through the school, but couldn't help but think about what she would say when they reached outside. It would be a difficult conversation, but necessary if she wanted any hopes of a relationship with Tomo.

When they exited the school and stepped outside the sun blinded them. They both stopped walking to let their eyes adjust to the bright conditions.

"Man, It's bright!" Tomo said squinting.

"Yeah." Yomi agreed shading her eyes with one hand.

"Tell me about it." A strange and unsettling voice spoke from behind them.

Yomi and Tomo turned around. Behind them stood a tall figure carrying a briefcase. As their eyes adjusted the figure became clear although they wished otherwise. It was Mr. Kimura.

"Well, if it isn't my second favorite girl, Tomo, along with my sixth favorite girl, Yomi." He said trying to spark a conversation. He had a relatively normal face on, but even so, Yomi and Tomo backed up a bit.

"What do you mean by that Mr. Kimura? Second favorite?" Despite feeling uncomfortable, Tomo gave into her curiosity and questioned why he greeted them in such an unusual manor.

"Yes, little Tomo, you're my second favorite girl. Kaorin is my number one girl and always will be." He replied looking at the empty space in-between Yomi and Tomo. It seemed as if he was trying to get a good view of both of them at the same time.

Yomi straightened her glasses. "How can Kaori be your number one? Don't you have a wife?"

"Yes, I have a wife, but she is my number one woman. Kaori isn't a woman yet, she is a girl and so is Tomo." He directed his sights on Yomi and scanned her from top to bottom. Even though his eyes were almost none existent with his small glasses on she had a clue what he was doing.

"Excuse me." She snapped at him as she covered herself with her school bag. "What are you doing?"

"Hmm, Yomi I don't know what list to put you on. You have the body of a woman, but you are in high school. So should you go on the 'Girls List' or 'Women List'?"

"List?" Tomo asked.

"Yes." He took a small red book out of his briefcase and opened it a few pages. He then turned it so that the two uncomfortable girls could take a peek.

Inside, at the top of the page it said "Girls List" in huge letters. Underneath it, a list of girls from the school was written:

"1.Kaorin 2.Tomo 3.Kagura 4.Sakaki 5.Nami 6.Yomi 7.Sakura"

It continued on with other names. Some of the girls they knew others they never heard of. Even Chiyo was on the list, but was ranked far from the top.

"Why is Yomi number six?" Tomo asked.

"She used to be number five until I found out about you and my sweet Kaorin being together. I had to move Yomi to six so I could fit in you name. Originally you were number fourteen." He explained adjusting his glasses.

"What! Number fourteen!" She yelled.

Yomi smiled nervously at him started tugging on Tomo's shirt as she inched away from him. "We need to be going Mr. Kimura. Bye!" They both ran off from the disturbing man.

Mr. Kimura looked into the sky glaring his glasses and his jaw dropped. "I think Yomi likes me." He said to himself.

Outside of the school grounds Tomo and Yomi walked speedily hoping to get of the sight of the school. They didn't want any more run-ins with Mr. Kimura.

"That was weird." Yomi commented, slowing down her walking pace.

Tomo did the same. "Yeah, I don't know whether to feel good or bad for Kaorin. She did get number one on the list, but it's not exactly the list you want to be on?"

As Tomo mentioned Kaori, Yomi saw a chance to start up the talk with Tomo. She tried to shift the subject away from the unusual list Mr. Kimura kept to something more important. "Speaking of Kaori, how are things with her?"

Tomo gave a baffled look to Yomi. "Kaori? Why do you call her that?"

She looked at Tomo out of the corner of her eye. "Because that's her name."

"I know, but doesn't everyone call her Kaorin?"

"Yeah, they do, but I started calling her Kaori for a reason. I think it would be nice if you did, too."

"Kaori…" Tomo repeated under her breath.

"Think about it Tomo, did anyone ever ask her if she wanted to be called that?"

"No, but that's what Chihiro called her. I thought it was right to do it." Tomo crossed her arms.

"Well, you don't have to call her Kaori if you don't want to. I mean you're the one going out with her not me."

"No, you're right. I think I should ask her."

Yomi smiled at Tomo. She rarely saw Tomo think of others, but Yomi figured it must be because she was in a relationship. This brought up a comment from her that Tomo would never expect to hear. "Tomo, I envy you."

Tomo's head jolted up in surprise. A look of shock and confusion was on her face. "Wait, wait, you envy me?"

Yomi looked at her with a gentle smile. "Yes. The way you can announce your feelings towards another to everybody and not feel ashamed or regretful later on. Especially when that person is a girl. You just go along with everything as if nothing happened." Yomi was building herself up. She wanted today to be the day that she told her that she, too, liked girls. She could feel the words rise up from her stomach, but began to feel uneasy when Tomo stopped in her tracks and stood silent.

"Tomo? What's wrong?"

"I…um…I don't think you should envy me." Her voice was soft and depressing. She set her bag on the ground.

"What? Why?" Yomi was beginning to worry. Did she say something that upset her. She tried to prepare herself for the worst.

"You got it all wrong. I regretted everything about the date. I felt ashamed about how I felt while I was on the date."

"Tomo…" Yomi set her bag down and placed a hand on Tomo's shoulder.

"I only went along with everything because it was easier on me, I didn't want to make the mess any worse than it already was."

"What mess, Tomo?"

"I will tell you, but you can't tell anyone. Especially not Kaorin or Sakaki."

"Sakaki?" Yomi thought to herself. "What does Sakaki have to do with any of this?"

"Do you promise?" Tomo asked.

"Yomi stepped in front of Tomo and gave a reassuring smile. "I promise."

"Ok, well, not too long ago I found Kaorin's diary. I read a little of it not knowing what it was and inside it talked about nothing, but Sakaki. Kaorin really, really likes, so I told Sakaki that Kaorin liked girls. I was hoping that Sakaki did would, too. Then they would, you know, fall in love or something."

"Wait, Tomo, you did that? Seriously?" Yomi giggled a bit. She thought how only Tomo would come up with a scheme like that.

Tomo smiled a bit when she saw Yomi giggling. Her voice picked up in tone and sounded less depressed." I did, I felt bad for her. I mean everyone in the school is straight. There is nobody for her to be with. I knew that she would never get with Sakaki and I wanted to help her out a little."

"Tomo, that's really sweet of you. I mean you didn't exactly handle the situation right, but it was a nice thought."

"Well, you should hear this part. I was going to meet Kaorin at her house to talk about the book and I saw her with Sakaki. She looked happy, I mean, I never saw her happy like that before and I felt bad knowing that she would probably never feel like that again, so I made up some dumb excuse to go on a date with her."

"Wow, Tomo. That's uh… really nice of you. I can't think of a good word, but, wow, you did that for Kaori? Why would you feel regret or shame?" Yomi was stunned by Tomo's actions and care for others' feelings. She couldn't understand why Tomo felt such negative emotions from such a selfless act. Even though Yomi kept a straight face, on the inside she was joyful and felt like shouting. She was happy because she could finally have a chance with her. Tomo didn't feel anything for Kaori.

"I regret doing it because when she finds out why I went on out with her, she will be hurt. How would you feel if someone went out with you because of pity?"

"Oh…"

"I felt ashamed because of the feelings I had on the date. I liked the date. I had fun. I felt close to her, but not because I liked her. I felt close to her because she was a girl. At first, I didn't understand the feelings, but now I do and I don't want to feel them." Tomo was beginning to get depressed. Yomi could hear it in her voice.

She tried to comfort her. "Tomo, It's no a bad thing to feel that way. It's just how you are."

"I don't want to feel this way." Tears streamed down her face. She didn't burst out crying, but kept a straight face as she poured tears from her eyes.

"Oh, Tomo…" Yomi whispered as she wrapped her arms around Tomo's small body. At first she squeezed lightly to comfort her friend, but couldn't resist embracing her tighter. She felt guilty enjoying the hug so much when Tomo felt so depressed. Tomo rested her chin on Yomi's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her. She could feel Yomi hands rubbing her back and felt relaxed. She wanted tospill out the rest of her tears, but hesitated when she heard soft weeping sounds from Yomi.

"Yomi, why are you crying?" She asked softly.

"I don't know." Yomi replied.


	9. Cancelled

Chapter 9: Cancelled

Kaori sat on the edge of her bed with her arms crossed. She was staring at the brown book on her nightstand, her diary. It was buttoned up trying to hold her secrets from the world, but a lone button was not enough to stop anyone from opening it and reading the content. She never thought that anyone would ever see what was in that book; she hoped that a button would at least give a hint that it was a private book. Tomo didn't seem to catch that hint when she came blabbing to her about what she read in it. Kaori squeezed her arms in embarrassment thinking what Tomo might of read or what she thought about her after she got her hands on the book. Even though everything seemed to be straightened out, it was still embarrassing to think about. Kaori reached one arm out and grasped the diary. She wanted to read through it over to check to what kind of secrets Tomo might have seen. She unbuttoned it and opened to the near center of the book. Kaori had opened to this area many times and by doing that it left a sort of gap between the pages and seemed to open up to that area whenever the book was unbuttoned. She figured Tomo would have read this passage it if opened up to her like that.

Written on that page was a note to Sakaki. Not a note that she would ever give to her, but note of things that she wished she could say to her. Kaori read a little bit of it:

"Dear Miss Sakaki,

Ever since the first day I saw you in school I had admired you. I admired you more than anyone else in school. I admire the way you run. You always look so cool when you run fast and your hair flows in back of you. You really put your heart into it. I also put my heart into things I love, things like you…"

Kaori clapped the book shut blushing. She couldn't even finish reading the letter. "What was I thinking when I wrote this?" She thought, "Oh, yeah, I was thinking no one would ever get their hands on this stupid book! I hope Tomo didn't see this entry, it's too embarrassing." She set the book back on her nightstand. Then she suddenly realized that Tomo never could have read that entry. Tomo set that date up because she thought Sakaki was a cover name for her. That narrows down the possible entries to those that don't describe Sakaki's appearance or her physical abilities. She quickly grabbed the book back and snapped it open to the first page.

The first entry was old, from her first year in high school when she first met Sakaki. She wrote it only about a week after she developed a crush for her. This page brought back some memories for her, but she didn't take the time to savor the them, instead she scanned the page for details on Sakaki. Sure enough, the first entry talked about her "long, dark and beautiful silk-like hair." Kaori smiled at how she used to describe Sakaki. Now she used much more descriptive language.

The next entry was the same. It mentioned Sakaki's "goddess-like grace as she galloped around the track." Kaori checked every single entry in the book anxious to see what Tomo could have read to make her think that she was the one in the book. There had to be at least one entry that could apply to her. Every page though had a mention that separated Sakaki from the other girls. Some spoke of Sakaki's "bold, confident expressions" others admired "the slender, curvaceous body" that she had. Mentions such as these continued until the very last entry. All them clearly spoke of Sakaki and no one else. There was no way that Tomo could have thought that any of the entries were about her. Not unless she was delusional.

Kaori shut the book again, but this time she wasn't flushing red from embarrassment, but wondering in suspicion. "Why did Tomo set up the date?" She wondered, "Does she really like me? Or does she have another reason?" Kaori gasped as a new thought poked it's way into her head. "Maybe she wants to keep me away from Sakaki! But, there is always the possibility that Tomo is really dense." Whatever the reason was, she still had to prepare for her date tonight. It was Friday and her second date with Tomo was approaching with each coming moment. She scheduled this date for one hour earlier than the last, it made her proud to think about it. She was never one to be outgoing, but agreeing to another date and unexpectedly changing the time was a big step for her. Each time she thought about that night she could feel a lump of pride in her throat.

It was only a few hours until the set time for the date and she thought she should call Tomo to see what exactly was going to happen. Was she going to be picked up by Tomo again? Would they meet somewhere? Kaori picked up the phone a dialed Tomo's house. It rang a few times before anyone picked up the phone.

"Hello?" A voice said.

Kaori politely responded. "Hello. May I speak to Tomo?"

"No." The voice rejected.

"Huh?"

"Haha! I'm just joking! This is Tomo!" she was playing around as usual.

"Oh, Tomo, You got me for a second. Well, I just wanted to ask if you were going to pick me up from my house tonight or what."

Tomo paused. "Wha…?"

"You know, the date? Did you forget or something?"

On the other side of the phone, Tomo was sitting on her bed smacking herself in on the head. She completely forgot about the date, but she lied. "No, I didn't forget. It just that…that I am busy."

"Busy? But you agreed last week for this." Kaori whined.

"I know, I'm really sorry, but it was kind of last minute. I wish I could have gone, maybe next time."

Kaori sounded disappointed when she responded. "I understand."

"Sorry, but I need to go. Bye"

"Bye."

In truth Kaori wasn't as disappointed as she sounded. In a way she was glad. Even though being with Tomo was fun, she felt guilt in the back of her mind that she was betraying Sakaki and her feelings for her.

Tomo felt guilt, too. She felt guilt from playing Kaori's emotions. Also, she felt ashamed that she felt an attraction for the same sex. Having a date at a time like this would just amplify those feelings inside of her. Even now they where gnawing away at her. The only time that she had a break from the pain was on the walk with Yomi yesterday afternoon. She felt so free when she admitted everything to her best friend and the pain ceased for the short while they strolled together. Then the hug from Yomi topped everything off leaving it at perfection. She had never felt so safe or comfortable from any other embrace. Tomo closed her eyes and could almost feel Yomi's arms wrapped around her. It felt warm and meaningful, not like a simple "good-bye" or "hello" hug. The way Yomi rubbed her back so gently, she felt like nothing could ever hurt her again. Trying to relive the hug was pointless unless Yomi was there with her. She sighed and turned her head to the digital clock by her bed. It was about half an hour until five.

"I don't think Yomi would mind if I drop by her place." She said to herself in cunning voice.

As Tomo began on her way to Yomi's house Kaori laid back on her bed in boredom. She had already finished her homework for the day and she kept the night free for the date. Yesterday, on the walk home with Chihiro she politely refused her offer to see a movie. When she explained that she had a date with Tomo Chihiro accepted the rejection with a straight face, but Kaori knew how she really felt. They have been friends for a while and she knew when Chihiro was trying to hide her feelings.

Kaori frowned thinking about how she has treated Chihiro over the past week. Every day Chihiro ate lunch alone at her desk. Kaori saw her; she just tried to convince herself that it was what Chihiro wanted for her. After all, that's what she said to Kaori when she found out that she went out with Tomo. She seemed proud of her and even acted as if it were an accomplishment of her own.

Chihiro always supported the decisions Kaori made no matter what they were. She was the only person really knew Kaori. She was close to her, close enough that Kaori felt comfortable sharing secrets with her. Chihiro was the first person to know about her preferences and the first know about how she felt about Sakaki. Chihiro accepted the way Kaori wanted to live without any questions.

She began to feel more and more like a jerk as she thought about her attitude towards Chihiro. "Maybe it's not too late for that movie." Kaori thought as she lifted up from her bed. She made a leap to the phone that sat on her desk and began hastily dialing. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" It was Chihiro.

"Hi, Chihiro!" Kaori greeted.

"Hey, Kaorin."

Kaori smiled. It always meant so much more when Chihiro called her that. "So, Tomo cancelled on me."

"She did? That's not good." A grin appeared on Chihiro's face. She had a good idea why Kaori was calling.

"Is it too late to go to that movie?"

"Nope."

"Yah! What time should we meet?"

"We actually would have to leave now if we want to make it." Chihiro said peeking at the clock.

"Ok, I'm on my way now. See ya."

"Bye." Kaori hung up the phone and rushed out the door. Her parents would not mind they were expecting her to be out anyway.

A small bit later, Tomo reached Yomi's house. Instead approaching the front door she went around to Yomi's bedroom window. Tomo could see her inside sitting at her desk. She must have been doing homework. Tomo slowly lifted her hand up to the window and tapped on it. Yomi jumped in her seat and turned around to the window, Tomo was smiling and waving at her. She got up from the desk chair, walked over to the window and slid it open.

"Hi Yomi!" Tomo greeted.

"Hi, Tomo." Yomi sighed.

"What's wrong? Is it a bad time?"

"No, it's just that you didn't need to come through the window. It's not so late that you can't use the front door."

"Oh, sorry. I'll go up front then." Tomo began to slowly walk away from the window.

"Nah, crawl on in." Yomi said motioning for her to enter. That's what Tomo was waiting to hear.

Tomo removed her shoes outside and then lifted a leg up over the window panel and then lifted her other leg in. She closed the window behind her. Yomi was already sitting at her desk working. Tomo stared at her jotting down words and felt a cozy feeling engulf her. She sat down on her bed just watching Yomi.

Yomi glanced over at her. "I'm almost done with this. Just another minute."

Tomo smiled. "No problem."

She made herself comfortable on Yomi's bed. She rested her head on the pillow and waited patiently. A few minutes later Yomi got up off the chair she was sitting in and stretched. Tomo popped her head off the pillow and sat up on the bed.

"So, Tomo, what brings you here today." Yomi said smiling.

Tomo lifted herself off the bed and stepped over to Yomi. She wrapped her arms around her. "I just needed a hug." She said.

Yomi returned the hug this time feeling free to enjoy it. Tomo, too, was enjoying it. Happiness flooded out the guilty feeling that polluted her mind. She squeezed a bit harder trying to get as much out of the hug as she could. Yomi did the same. They could feel each other's heartbeats thumping. Each slow increasing a speed. Yomi began moving her hands over Tomo's back and she felt like she would melt right through Yomi's grip. Then Tomo began to loosen her grip and they both slowly let go of each other. Yomi wished to hold Tomo longer, but was a little curious of her unusual behavior.

"What was that for Tomo?" The tall girl said in a curious tone.

"Nothing, I just missed you." Responded Tomo.

Yomi just smiled. Tomo sat back down on the edge of Yomi's bed and was joined by her only seconds later. "Is everything ok, Tomo?

Tomo stopped smiling. "It is now."

"Now?" Yomi questioned.

"Yeah, I feel better when I'm with you." Tomo said

"You do? How so?" Yomi was curious to know what she meant by this.

"Well, whenever I'm around you I don't feel any guilt or shame. You seem to make everything better." Tomo explained. She then inched closer to Yomi and looked up at her. "Would rub my back some more? I like it when you do that."

"Uh, sure." Yomi placed her hand on Tomo's back and rubbed softly in a circular motion. Tomo sat silent with Yomi just enjoying the moments. While Tomo enjoyed a back rub, Yomi was internally building up her courage again. If there was any one time made for admitting anything to Tomo, this was it. It was almost like everything was falling into place for her and she had to take action and she was sure that she could do it this time. She would tell Tomo how much she wants to be with her. Her mouth opened to begin speaking, but nothing came out. The words seemed to be stuck, she would have to force the words out or it would never get done.

"T-tomo, I need to talk to you." She stuttered.

Tomo leaned over and fell on Yomi's shoulder. She mumbled a few words of gibberish.

"What did you say?" Yomi asked. She looked down at Tomo and noticed that she was asleep. It must have been the back rub. Yomi sighed. "I guess I will wait until she wakes up."


	10. At The Theater

Oh! I can't believe it! I actually updated this story! What's it been 2 months? Hahaa, if you are still reading this story, don't worry, I will finish this story. Even if it takes me a while I will get it done. By the way this is a short chapter. I know it should be longer because I had 2 months, but you know how life is. Its busy.

Chapter 10: At the Theater

Kaori walked outside into the comfortable, dim twilight. Chihiro was behind her grinning as she watched Kaori breath in the fresh night air. The side walks were surprisingly empty for such a nice night.

"So, Kaori, did you like the movie?" Chihiro asked.

Kaori turned around. "Oh yeah, but I didn't know you where into romance movies and stuff."

"Yeah, sometimes I just get in the mood to see something like that." Chihiro laughed.

Kaori turned back around and walked out to the vacant sidewalks. Chihiro followed and stopped beside her friend when she suddenly stopped. Kaori was marveling at the horizon. The sky was a creamy orange with puffs of pink clouds. The sun was almost hidden by the clouds making rays of light reach outwards from a glowing line that traced the puffs.

"We came out of the movie just in time for the sunset." Chihiro commented.

"Yeah it makes a nice dramatic background for Sakaki." A sweet voice replied, but it wasn't Kaori.

"Huh?"

Both Kaori and Chihiro turned behind them and were greeted with a cheerful smile from a rather spacey girl. It was Osaka.

"So ya guys gonna see a movie? Wanna see one with me?" She invited.

"Osaka what did you just say about Sakaki?" Kaori clenched her by the shoulders.

Osaka giggled. "Ah said that the sunset makes a nice dramatic background for her. Don'cha think so, too? Oh yeah, and would ya like ta see a movie with me?"

Kaori immediately shoved Osaka away her and flung around to take a second look at the sunset. Just as Osaka had mentioned, Sakaki was approaching the theater at a gradually pace, the setting sun that was vanishing from the sky made the slim girl appear to have an almost goddess like appearance, well at least Kaori thought so. Her mouth turned from a thin line into a gaping whole of pure amazement at the angelic look of her love. Her two eyes glimmered with twinkles with feeling that couldn't be explained by even the most talented poet. Every step that Sakaki took made Kaori heart jump.

"Isn't that the most beautiful girl that you have ever seen?" Kaori admired not even knowing what she had just said.

Chihiro gently nudged the awe-stricken girl ending her moment euphoria and bringing her back to reality. She was welcomed with a face of pure bewilderment from Osaka.

"Ya think Sakaki is beautiful? But, I thought ya had ao think Tomo was beautiful. Are ya cheating on her with Sakaki?" Osaka rambled creating her conclusions.

Chihiro quickly interrupted Osaka just before Sakaki reached the theater, "No, no, no Osaka! She means that she was only beautiful because the sun was behind her."

Osaka looked cleared up a little, but her mind didn't, "So she thinks Sakaki is ugly 'cept when the sun is behind her?"

"Hahaha…" A weak laugh escaped Kaori's throat, "I don't think you quite understand."

"Is it something sexual?"

"What would make you think that?" Kaori said with a timid smile.

"'Cause I don't really understand anything like that, so I figured that is what it must be."

"I'll explain it to you later just don't mention any of this to Sakaki when she comes."

"Explain what to me?" Sakaki's voice instantly sounded in reply to the previous statement.

Kaori hastily turned around, "Sakaki! What are you doing here?"

"I was going to see a movie. What about you?"

"Ah, what movie are you going to see?"

"Um, you know that…one that has the um, cute animals." Sakaki's face reddened as she mumbled.

Kaori didn't fully hear what Sakaki had said, but made a quick lye out of it, "Oh, yeah! I was just going to see that one! You wouldn't mind if I went, too, would you?"

Sakaki suddenly went a into a bit of joyful shock. Joy that she would get to see a movie with a friend, shock that another teen would actually admit to seeing the animated movies she enjoyed so much. "Nah, I won't mind at all. I would actually be happy to have a friend."

Chihiro instantly pulled Kaori away from Sakaki and addressed her with disapproval, "We just saw a movie! Besides I thought we were susposed to be spending time together."

"But this is my chance to spend some alone time with Sakaki! Please! You don't have to see it!" Kaori began to plead before her friend.

Chihiro let out a long annoyed breath and spoke in a snappy tone. "I will see it with you, I can't let you be alone with Sakaki, you should be alo…er…spending time with me anyway. I haven't seen you in like forever because of Tomo. You don't to need abandon me to spend time with Sakaki now! When am I supposed to see you?"

Kaori was a bit angered by the comments from her short haired friend, "I just spent time with you in the movie just now and I'm not abandoning you in any way! I was only away from you for a week! You're just over exaggerating!"

Chihiro was silent, Kaori could see that she had dealt a blow to her feelings. Her eyes began to moisten and droplets appeared.

"I'm gonna go home." Chihiro growled.

"Fine with me! I just get more time with Sakaki!" Kaori said in a smug tone.

"Shut up." Chihiro retorted calmly with puffy eyes.

The two girls looked into each others eyes waiting for each other to suddenly burst out in apology, admitting that the other was wrong and they should do things their way. Kaori's frustration was blocking out any thoughts of apologies as was Chihiro's jealousy of Sakaki was doing the same. Sakaki and Osaka were completely unaware of the tension between them. They were on the other side of the theater talking about future releases of movies. Sakaki then pointed out that her movie was going to begin and went over to get Kaori so she could purchase a ticket.

"Kaorin! The movie about to start!" Sakaki warned form across the theater.

Kaori immediately turned away form Chihiro at the sound of Sakaki's voice calling her name. She took one last spiteful look at Chihiro and went to the ticket booth for hr ticket. Sakaki was there waiting she had already asked for the ticket all Kaori had to do was pay for it. Then they both walked in the theater together smiling at each other.

Osaka was still standing outside trying to choose a movie to see. She noticed that Chihiro was still standing in the same spot that Kaori left her in. She walked over to her to get help in making a decision.

"What should I see Chihiro?" Osaka asked.

"Uh, what, Osaka?" she replied.

"What movie should I see? Oh, and would you like to see one with me?" Osaka said smiling hoping for a positive reply.

Chihiro paused for a second. She didn't want to see another movie, but she didn't want to leave Sakaki alone with Kaori. It also wouldn't be very nice to let Down Osaka. She seemed like she really wanted to see a movie. There was an easy way out of this mess that would leave her satisfied and Osaka, too.

"Osaka what movie did Sakaki see? I want to see that one!" Chihiro exclaimed.


	11. Osaka's Revelation

Ah, finally my desire to write is back, I actually feel like writing this story again, why do you think my updates have been so long apart and why do you think that last chapter was kinda bland. I hope this chapter turns out better. I think it will because I feel like writing again. YAH! I guess my desire has something to do with the school year. Hmm, oh! "Tard-face" I stole it from my friend Summan, she always calls me that. You'll see what I mean.

Chapter 11: Osaka's Revelation

On the back on here neck a steady warm sensation gradually awakened Yomi from her sleep. She rubbed her neck and felt warm moisture. Her eyes fluttered open as she turned to face the unusual feeling. She saw for a split second a gaping mouth before her glasses fogged up from the breath it spurted out.

"Oh, God!" Yomi jolted up fanning her hand in front of her face.

"What is it? What happened!" Tomo jumped to her senses from her dreams in shock.

"Your breath, it stinks! I mean it really stinks!" Yomi said still waving her hand from side to side as she stepped out of her bed.

"Hey! It doesn't stink, and why were you doing smelling my breath while I was asleep anyway. That's weird!"

"No, I turned over and that hole in your face, which you call a mouth, shot out a giant puff of stink." Yomi took her glasses off of her face and began washing the water droplets off the lenses with her shirt, "You even got spit all over them."

Tomo giggled at Yomi's slight misfortune. Yomi shot a nasty look at her and Tomo backed down raising the sheets to her neck with the look of a frightened puppy. Yomi couldn't help smiling at her gesture.

"What are you smiling at?" Tomo playfully teased as she lowered her guard.

"That goofy face you just made. You looked like Chiyo if she was ugly!"

"You're so cruel, Koyomi."

"Koyomi?"

"I couldn't think of a good comeback, so I just said your name."

Yomi placed her glasses back over her eyes, "Tomo you tard-face."

Kaori sat gleefully next to the tall blushing beauty, Sakaki. A wonderful, ticklish feeling fluttered about in her stomach and tried to make its way up her throat to escape her mouth in a joyous yelp. Kaori tapped her feet with delightful anxiety as she awaited the movie to begin. Everything seemed to be in perfect order, except for one thing. She had a crazy feeling that someone was eyeing them. Kaori turned to look around quickly, but she didn't see anybody besides fellow movie-goers, all of which where younger than ten or so it seemed. Kaori ignored the nagging feeling and focused more on enjoying the company of Sakaki.

"Did she see us?" whispered Chihiro to Osaka.

"I sure hope not, otherwise it woulda been a waste for ya to throw us on this sticky floor."

"I'm sorry, Osaka, I just panicked a little when I saw Kaorin turning her head, I didn't mean to drag you down so hard. She just can't know we're here."

"I'm not gonna ask ya why she can't see us because I'm sure it's something sexual and I wouldn't understand."

"Um…yeah, I guess that's the easiest thing to assume." Chihiro responded with an awkward smile.

As she spoke the lights above their heads began to dim until the only thing casting out light was the movie screen.

"Ok, I think it's safe to sit in the seats without being seen."

Both of the girls crawled into the seats the jumped out of earlier. Chihiro set her eyes straight at Kaori and Sakaki watching them intently. Osaka pulled a napkin off of her knee only find out that freshly chewed gum was sticking it on. She let a whimper of disgust as she discarded the napkin back to the floor. Chihiro was oblivious to her actions as she was solely set a keeping an eye on Kaori's actions.

For the first half hour of her watch, Chihiro did not see Kaori make a move on Sakaki like she dreaded would happen. She felt relieved, but at the same time guilty that she was invading her friend's privacy. When she thought of her plan earlier it seemed like a very good idea, but now that her anger was starting fade it uncovered guilt.

Chihiro let out a sigh. "Osaka you wouldn't mind if I left would you? I'm feeling kind of down."

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. I think I might go with ya. This movie kinda sucks, all it has is cartoon animals huggin' and junk. I was hoping for a little action."

The two girls left the theater disappointed, but for different reasons. Outside the sun had fully set, it was still fairly bright outside, though, because of the street lights.

"So, Chihiro, you're done spyin' on Kaorin?" Osaka asked

"Yeah, something about it doesn't feel right."

"That's good of ya, but if ya want me to stay behind I will. Ya know, ta keep an eye on her. I finally figured out why ya care so much about watchin' her and I think it's for a good cause. It's really nice of ya ta look out for Tomo like that."

"Huh, Tomo? What does this have to do with Tomo?" Chihiro responed in pure confusion.

"You're spyin' on Kaorin so she doesn't cheat on Tomo with Sakaki, right?"

Chihiro was slightly angered by the comment, but didn't show it. Osaka wasn't aware of her growing hatred for Tomo, so she shouldn't fall victim to Chihiro's rage. "No, wrong, I don't care for Tomo's at all."

Osaka was a little put off by what she said, but didn't look into it and decided to guess again. "Ok then, ya must be looking out for Kaorin so Sakaki doesn't take advantage of her."

"Haahahaha! Osaka that one's hilarious, I wouldn't need to worry about that. Sakaki isn't the one I need to worry about putting the moves on, it's Kaorin I'm worried about!"

"Huh!" Osaka gasped and turned around, "Kaorin will take advantage of Sakaki! I better go back and tell Sakaki to be caref…"

"No!" Chihiro yelled interrupting Osaka and grabbing her shoulder. "No, don't, I didn't mean that. It was a…a, um, joke!"

Osaka grinned and unusually sly grin before turning around to face Chihiro with her usual smile, "If it was a joke why do ya care so much that I don't tell Sakaki? Is there a reason?"

"Um, no…let's just say that its something sexual and you won't understand it, how's that?"

"No, Chihiro." Osaka said with straight face and stern voice.

"Huh?" Osaka's stubbornness was starting to make Chihiro nervous. "Why not? I-I mean, like, it's not good to be nosey, right?"

"Chihiro, I already know what's going on."

Chihro nearly fell back when Osaka said what she said in such a serious manner."Y-you know?"


	12. Unusual Behavior

Hehehehehehehee. I wasn't lying when I said my desire to write was back even though it took me nearly six months to make this update or was it more?? I dunno. I did write a lot of other things besides this story though, most are not online. Truthfully, I think I have just run out of juice for this story. I'm gonna finish no matter what, though. It would be really crappy if I didn't end it. This chapter isn't going to be the final though. I don't know when the final will come depends on how the story goes. Anyway, sorry for lying about saying I would try to update faster. I did try though. I tried writing this chapter many times and finished it a few times. But, I wasn't satisfied with it and I just didn't want to post up garbage. Anyway, enough excuses on to the story.

Chapter 12: Unusual Behavior

Chihiro stepped slowly along the sidewalk, staggering a bit. Her nerves were crying with tension and her head felt filled like it was full of liquid. There was too much on her mind and it was weighing her down into a slump. She could have walked straight if she wanted to, but she didn't care. She didn't want to use her energy perfecting her steps. If there was anything in the world that needed her energy now it was to figure out how to deal with Osaka since she managed to figure out the situation between her, Kaori and Sakaki.

"How does a girl like her figure out what's going on with me?" Chihiro thought to herself. "She hardly even knows me! I rarely see her or any of those girls she hangs out with. I'm friends with them all, but we aren't close enough for them to know any personal details."

Chihiro was baffled, but tried to think more of how to handle her rather than how she figured everything out. It was a hard to focus on anything else but what Osaka told her earlier. It kept replaying in her mind.

"Chihiro, I already know what's goin' on."

"Y-you know?"

"Yup, I know about ya, Kaorin and Sakaki."

"What do you know?" She remembered herself responding with a meek voice.

"I know how Kaorin feels 'bout Sakaki. I also know how much it upsets ya. It's really hard for me not to notice 'specially after t'night."

"So, how does this concern you in any way?"

"I guess ya are right. It really isn't my business, but I feel really bad just watchin' as feelins' get hurt. I can tell your feelins' are really hurt. I can tell ya really um... "like" Kaorin."

"Huh?! Why do you say it like that? W-we're just friends." Chihiro trembled as she spoke.

Osaka just looked at her. Chihiro could tell what Osaka was thinking, but she didn't know what to say to convince her otherwise. All she did was walk away.

"I can't believe Osaka would think that I like Kaorin in that way." She thought as she chuckled unsteadily, "I bet she's the one that like Kaorin and she is trying to push her denial on me. Stupid Osaka, she better not like her, she's mine. Not Sakaki's. Not Osaka and definitely not Tomo's! She is my friend and nobody can take her away from me."

Chihiro's eye began to fell backed up as she held back her tears of anxiety and depression. She practically slowed down to a crawl before stopping in her tracks.

"I shouldn't be thinking this." She muttered, "I should be happy for Kaori. She finally got to spend some time with her crush, and she even has a girlfriend."

Suddenly, a screeching voice shrieked in delight "SHE has a GIRLFRIEND?!"

The troubled girl jumped back in horror, but she quickly regretted her quick spasm backwards as she felt two hands on her arms.

"Well, Hello." The voice greeted, this time in a slightly more normal tone.

Chihiro stumbled out of the loose grasp and whirled around and to her displeasure saw her creepy literature teacher.

"M-Mr. Kimura?!" She shouted in surprise.

"Hi, Chihiro, Isn't it a little dangerous for you to be walking alone at night? You never know what kind of creeps you could run into."

Chihiro was amused by the ironic statement, but didn't give it much thought as she was already preoccupied.

"Uh, yeah...I was just walking home from the movies."

"Wow, I was just on my way TO the movies. Pretty girls always like to hang out at the theater."

Chihiro wanted to run away, but she couldn't do that to her teacher. So she stuck around trying to end the conversation as fast as she could.

"Oh yeah, really pretty girls." She agreed.

Mr. Kimura was silent for a moment. Chihiro was becoming more stressed talking to him and tried even harder to hide her tears. She noticed Kimura's head tilt slightly to the side.

"I'm gonna walk you home." He blurted out.

"Huh, w-what?" Chihiro was really in shock now.

"It's too dangerous for you to walk alone at night. I don't want you getting hurt."

"No, no, don't worry about me." She tried to reject his offer as politely as she could.

"No Chihiro, as a teacher it is my duty to protect my students even outside of class."

Chihiro was surprised to hear something so noble come from Mr. Kimura. She thought he might deserve a chance, but now was not the time to give him one. She just wanted to be alone, but she knew that there was no way out of the situation as it was. She reluctantly accepted the offer.

She and Kimura walked silently on the side walk. It changed from bright to dim and they passed under street lights. It was awkward having her teacher walk her home, but she a bit impressed by his actions. He was on his way to see a movie on his time off and he offered to help a student home. She wanted to strike up a quick conversation to help the time pass, but she didn't know what else to talk to him about except high school girls. Kimura, though, was already set to ask her a question.

"What's wrong Chihiro?" he asked.

Her head perked up a bit, "Huh, oh, nothing. I'm fine."

She knew she wasn't fine, but he was the last person she wanted to tell the situation to. She knew how he would react with his perverted comments.

"Is it about Kaorin?" He continued.

Chihiro clenched her teeth inside her mouth.

"Even my teacher is stealing the name Kaorin away. I started calling her that. Now everybody is using that name." she thought.

Kimura continued talking, "I am sad, also because of her new love interest. I never thought little Kaorin would be so bold as to openly date another girl. She can never belong to either one of us."

He tilted his head downwards and what seemed to be a single tear escaped his eye.

"What is he talking about "belong"? I am already her friend." She asked herself in her mind while wearing a false smile

"I am happy, too. Next class, when I announce my new rule, I can see the hot action in class."

Chihiro inched away from him, but was also curious about the new rule he mentioned. She only didn't run away to hear what she was to expect from the next class. She took a deep breath preparing for what she might hear from him before squeaking out a question.

'What…"

He shot his head in her direction and cut her sentence off.

"It's that girls are aloud to make-out during class time."

"Was he waiting for me to ask?" Chihiro thought to herself as her mouth formed a crooked smile.

"I-I'm sure they'll love it." She forced out.

"Yeah, I think so, but I regret not passing it earlier. Maybe instead of Kaorin on Tomo, it would have been Kaorin on you."

"Excuse me?" Chihiro said politely. She didn't quite hear Kimura correctly, or at least she hoped that she didn't.

"Well, you seem pretty sweet on Kaorin, although when I saw you two together I never suspected any sort of possibilities, but now after what Kaorin and Tomo have done I now know I should never doubt my gut instinct."

Chihiro was deeply enraged by the accusation Kimura. Along with the already swelling rage she had experience earlier from the fight with Kaori; she had trouble holding it in.

"I am just Kaorin's friend. Her best friend." Chihiro snapped.

Kimura was silent for a moment. Chihiro thought that she had set him straight with that comment.

"Well, I guess so, but my gut usually isn't wrong about these things. I mean, always knew that there was something different about Kaorin. That's why I was so interested in her."

The feeling inside Chihiro where boiling into a chaotic fury, but she tried her hardest to keep her cool. Blowing up on Mr. Kimura would not do anything but hurt the situation. She couldn't help but think about how Osaka also believed that she liked Kaori. Where were all the people getting their crazy stories? Is this what everybody though? She didn't know for sure why it was happening, but she wanted to prove to everyone that they were wrong. The thought made her want to cry. It always did make her want to cry. She knew how she really felt about boys and girls, but just the thought of it sometimes made her unsure.

"Well, this time your gut is wrong!" She cried with the tears she had been suppressing finally released in shining stream that ran from her eyes.

Mr. Kimura fell back when Chihiro faced him with her teary face. He did not expect such a reaction and meant no harm when telling his thoughts. He tried to open his mouth to apologize, but was in momentary shock and couldn't make his words come out straight. Before he could untangle his speech Chihiro had already darted out off into the distance. He still could see her, though, and without a second thought made his way after her shouting his apology, but Chihiro was not down. He continued his pursuit.

"BAM!" shouted out Tomo with a devious look on her face.

Yomi walked over to the girl who was sitting on the floor holding a video game controller in her hands. She could see her pushing buttons and flicking control sticks in a frenzy, but she could see nothing on the screen except a mere sitcom.

"Tomo, what the…" Yomi took a second glance at her odd friend, "What are you doing?"

Tomo didn't stop abusing the controller in her hands, but looked up at Yomi as if she was some sort oblivious fool.

"I'm pretending to play an awesome game." She said sarcastically.

Yomi frowned at the tone Tomo used, "Well, why don't you play one of my REAL games."

"You're games are boring." Tomo replied quickly as if she had been meaning to tell Yomi for quite a while.

"No, no, no. I have very fun games full of action and suspense. You just think they are boring because they require a little thought to beat them." She defended.

"I don't believe puzzle games are exciting. They are just like you, boring and out of style."

Yomi knocked Tomo over the head.

"Ow… why?"

"You sure as heck know why." Yomi said feeling a slight bit of accomplishment.

"I was just joking, though." Tomo excused rubbing the sore spot on the head.

"I was just joking, too"

"Your jokes hurt, Yomi."

Yomi made a more compassionate face, "Fine, I'm sorry Tomo."

Tomo smiled a wide tooth-filled grin as she usually does when she gets her way.

"I guess this means you agree with me on your game then."

"Not a chance."

Tomo began to laugh, but was interrupted by a tingling sensation in he pocket. She reached her hand in and pulled out her cell phone.

"It's vibrating." She pointed out.

"And…"

"I set it to do this last week. When Kaorin made plans for this Friday I wanted my phone to go off at this time just in case the date went bad. Then I would have an excuse to go home."

Yomi didn't know what to say to that. She hated the fact that Tomo was even seeing Kaori, but it seemed to her that Tomo was not all that interested. She thought of herself being victorious over Kaori because Tomo canceled on her to sneak over to her house. She didn't want know exactly if it counted, though, after all Tomo was not dating her.

"I should call Kaorin and reschedule the date for next week. I feel a little bad for ditching her like that." Tomo began to dial.

"No…" Yomi began to shout, but trailed off as she realized what she was doing.

She couldn't tell Tomo what to do, and she especially shouldn't discourage Tomo to not reschedule. She knew that, for Tomo, that was a responsible thing to do and Yomi did not want to steer her in the wrong direction. Though, she could not help, but feel that emptiness her heart grows larger as she observed Tomo's actions. A rapid sinking feeling overcame her as she felt Tomo drift out of her grasp. She had Tomo in her room at the very moment, the girl she loved, the girl she only dreamt about being with, but she was standing there feeling helpless as she called another girl right in front of her.

Tomo had now already dialed Kaori's number and the phone was placed gently next to her ear. Yomi could hear the faint ringing and each ring felt like a shot in her chest. She didn't know if someone would answer or not, but she didn't want to wait long enough to find out. Then suddenly the ringing stopped. A slight bit of relief comforted Yomi until she heard a nearly silent voice on the phone. It was Kaori! Yomi grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began to knot it up in her fist. She bit her lip with her teeth, the pain helped her forget about what was happening before her eyes, but it wasn't enough to erase the image. Tomo was casually talking with Kaori at the moment. She thought she heard Kaori mention something about a movie, but now she was too panicked to make the soft whispers out clearly. Just then, Yomi heard Tomo say the begging of the dread question.

"So, Kaorin I'm really sorry…"

Yomi knew what was to be expected next. She couldn't take the torture any longer and out of pure instinct swiped her hand directly in front of Tomo's face.

"No!" She shouted in a desperate voice.

She did not touch Tomo's face in the slightest bit, but directly with full force knocked the small square phone out of Tomo's relaxed grasp. The phone glided neatly to the floor and slid across the ground. Kaori's voice echoed.

"Hello? What was that noise?"

Tomo stunned at Yomi's act looked at the phone and glanced at Yomi with a face distorted with the confusion unheard of.

"Yomi, what the heck did you…"

Tomo knew what she was going to finish her sentence with she was going to say "do that for?", but the words could not escape her mouth for it was being blocked. Yomi had her lips firmly pressed against the unsuspecting girl. Her hand was holding the head on Tomo, up against hers with a gentle yet powerful grip. Tomo didn't fight against the hold, but she didn't give in either, she just stood letting Yomi control her. She was not even sure if what was happening was reality. She didn't know what to do, but she didn't care what to do either. All of her emotion were at a stand still, but she could a faint sense of comfort, the same comfort she always felt around Yomi, begin to radiate in her body. Tomo watched in front of her two tears roll down Yomi's cheeks. One tear was filled with all the pain and heart ache she felt up to this point and the other was the first of tears of filled with a joy that Yomi never thought she would experience.


	13. Friday's End

YES!! I made an update in less than 7 months. I feel happy! Btw, I finished this darn chapter last Friday and tried to post it up all weekend!! I kept geting errors. Also, I take back what I said about losing my interest in this story. I actually feel totally refreshed and already have finished chapter 14. I can't wait to do chapter 15, but I have a fairly busy week. I need to seriously get a beta reader. I write all my work at like 2-4 a.m. and I don't reread my stories. Maybe I have insomnia...my friends say that, but I don't think I do, they must be exaggerating. Anyway, Even if I did reread it wouldn't change anything because I would get bored and ignore many errors. I do use spell check, though, and even try to get my friend's to do it, but they aren't interested in fanfics. DARN THEM! Anyway I hope you like this chapter, guess what day finally ends.

Chapter 13: Friday's End

"Tomo, are you still there?" Kaori questioned in a low tone.

She cupped her hand around her mouth to help muffle the sounds of her voice from the few viewers scattered throughout the theater.

"What's up?" Sakaki asked leaning over to Kaori.

"I'm not really sure myself. Tomo called me just now. She was just about to ask me something, but she isn't answering."

"Maybe the connection is bad." Sakaki suggested.

"I'm not sure that's the case. Right before she went silent I heard a loud thump and then I heard Tomo, but she sounded distant. It sounded like she said something about Yomi."

Kaori stayed on the line waiting to see if she could get Tomo back on. She was completely unaware as to whatt was happening on the other end of the phone.

Yomi was still holding Tomo's head in her palms. She loosened her grip and Tomo slide away slowly. Yomi quickly placed her hand over her mouth upon realized who her lips just let go of. Tomo was standing on weak knees with a face of red. She couldn't stand up anymore and lowered to the ground. She was trying to think of a response, but nothing could suit the situation so she just sat there with her mouth slightly open. Yomi, though, knew exactly what to say.

"I'm sorry." She apologized as she began pacing around back and forth twisting and ringing the bottom of her shirt, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Why did you though?" Tomo finally spoke.

"It was just… I got this feeling… I didn't…I, ya know…I…" Yomi stammered on trying to say something that she thought Tomo would accept as a reasonable excuse, but what kind of excuse do you give for suddenly kissing your best friend?

"Yomi, I'm going to… I think I should go home." Tomo said in a dead tone. She was still a bit stunned and wasn't sure what to say.

Yomi began rubbing her eyes with one hand and sniffled a bit.

"Ok." She said weakly.

"I…will…see you later."

She silently and slowly opened the window then climbed out. Yomi sat on her bed as her eyes began to tear up. The window was still open and a breeze blew in. The touch of the breeze just perpetuated the thought of how Tomo just walked out on her. Yomi then, out of the corner of her eye, noticed Tomo's phone sitting on the floor. She walked over to it with tears streaming down her face. As she looked down she saw the words "Connected" suddenly change into "Call End".

"She was with her." Kaori stated with a hint of wrath in her voice.

"Huh?"

"Tomo cancelled the date with me tonight to go see Yomi."

"You had a date with Tomo tonight?" Sakaki repeated.

"Yeah, I set it up with her last week, but she cancelled earlier, but just now I heard Tomo speaking again. She was talking with Yomi. She ditched me!"

"Well, you how Tomo is." Sakaki excused.

Kaori crossed her arms angrily.

"Still, even for Tomo, that's a really mean thing to do. It really fries me. I don't even know why I agreed to go out with her in the first place, much less set up a second date. Stupid...grr… Tomo."

Sakaki looked at Kaori a bit surprised.

"Wow, Kaorin, I haven't seen you like this before."

Kaori didn't answer.

"Hmm," Sakaki began, "I think you should give her another chance. After all, Tomo has never really known much about the dating thing."

Kaori didn't want to give Tomo another chance, but she knew Sakaki had never steered her wrong before. Also, as she thought more about what Tomo had done, she began feeling guilty herself. She was out seeing someone else and of all people the very girl she liked.

Kaori suddenly took on a new mood as she felt guilty for her wrong doing. She didn't know the exact reason Tomo cancelled and she was not being faithful to her either. For all she knew Tomo was with Yomi helping her with some trouble.

"You're right, Sakaki. The phone call was a little weird. They both sounded upset. I think Tomo might have had a good reason to cancel."

Sakaki smiled at Kaori. She felt like melting her seat as she saw the soft forgiving smile of Sakaki.

"I love it when she smiles like that!" She thought.

Just after Kaori and Sakaki got their attention back into the movie it ended. The lights came on and people began leaving. Kaori didn't want to leave just yet; she wanted more time with Sakaki. Her guilt over feeling unfaithful was surpassed by her feelings for the tall dark haired beauty. Just as Sakaki was getting up Kaori blasted out a question.

"Wanna get some ice cream?"

Sakaki stretched her stiff arms above her head as Kaori admiringly watched her body loosen itself. She then answered the young girl.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

Kaori clenched her teeth hard to keep from shouting out in joy. Today was turning out just like the diary entry she remembered writing a few months back, except she and Sakaki had just finished a horror movie instead of a children's movie. This brought a question to Kaori's mind.

"Sakaki." Kaori said.

"Hmm." Sakaki answered back.

"Why did you choose to watch that kid's movie?"

Sakaki blushed and paused. Kaori was there smiling as she waited for an answer.

"The animals are…" Sakaki mumbled.

Kaori couldn't understand the end of her sentence.

"I didn't catch the end of that. The animals are what?"

Sakaki still blushed and mumbled, "The animals are c…"

"Huh?"

"Cute."

Kaori wasn't exactly sure Sakaki was trying to say, but she thought she heard Sakaki call the animals cute. She ignored it and decided to just drop the question.

Outside on the street, Tomo walked heavily to her house, repeating the event that took place in her head. She was still trying to make herself believe that Yomi actually did what she did. It seemed like such a farfetched idea that Yomi would just go out and kiss her so suddenly without warning. A bunch of thoughts overwhelmed her.

"Why did Yomi do that? Does she have feeling for me? If so, then why hasn't she told me? How long has she had secret feelings for me? What do I do about Kaori now?"

Then Tomo started clenching her teeth as a new thought entered her head.

"Did I hurt Yomi?"

Tomo felt so unsure about everything. She had to try to relax. Tomo stopped right in her footsteps. She took a deep breath. She then felt an itch on her cheek. She scratched it. Her face was wet. She didn't notice, but she had been crying the whole time. Her sleeve was used to wipe away her tears and she forced herself to stop crying. Tomo then licked her lips. She could still taste Yomi. It was a new sensation on her tongue, something very hard to identify. The taste didn't have anything particular that jumped out to help describe it. It just tasted as it did, like her best friend.

"No," Tomo said to herself and she rubbed her hand across her mouth trying to erase the taste, "Yomi's fine. She isn't upset. I bet she was just messing around. It was probably some sort of test."

Tomo clenched her fist and tried to smile.

"I bet she was testing me to see if I was faithful to Kaorin. That's the only reason she would do something like that. Yes, that is exactly it."

Tomo still felt upset, but now much more relieved. The many exhausting questions she had in her mind seemed to be answer by the conclusion she came to. She rubbed her eyes and smiled a plastic smile.

"I should finish that phone call with Kaorin, though; I need to get that date back on track."

Tomo reached her pocket. She felt nothing. She tried her other pocket. Still nothing. Then she remembered.

"I left it. I need to go back."

She turned around half way before stopping herself.

"No, I can wait. I will tell Kaorin when I see her. It's better to do these things in person. Yomi will bring my phone with her to class anyway. Yup, I'm good. Good, good, good. No problems. Everything worked out."

Tomo continued walking to her house keeping her smile plastered to her face. She was afraid that if she let her smile go she might begin to cry again, so she put all her concentration into keeping the smile on.

"I'm sorry!"

Tomo stopped walking after hearing the strange plead for forgiveness

"I'm sorry! Really!"

The sound was growing louder.

"Who is yelling that?"

Tomo tried to ignore the cries and continued walking. The cries stopped for a few seconds and Tomo thought she had heard the last of it, but then she heard another sound.

"No, No, It's fine! I'm fine."

That sound came from behind her and it was loud. Tomo turned around and saw the body of a girl just inches away from her .Her head was turned around looking behind her, she had short hair. That was all Tomo could tell because the next thing she could tell was that she was on the ground staring the frightened girl in the face.

"Ahh!! Sorry. Sorry." The girl pleaded jumping off of Tomo.

"It's ok." Tomo said in pain.

"It's you?!"

"What?" Tomo asked as she slowly lifted herself up.

"Tomo?!" said another voice in slight shock.

"Huh?" Tomo responded to the voice.

"Your Hurt!" the voice suddenly screeched.

Tomo held her the right side of her head. Her vision was blurred, but she could tell two figures stood in front of her.

"Who are you guys?"

"She has amnesia!" The one voiced screeched again.

Slowly Tomo's vision cleared up. The two figures came into focus.

"Chihiro?! Mr. Kimura?!"

"She's cured!" Kimura shouted.

Chihiro stood silent staring angrily at Tomo. Mr. Kimura looked at Tomo, also, but now he was holding his mouth.

"What's the matter?"

Tomo then took her hand of her head and saw a palm stained with blood. Her right shoulder was also soaked. It had dripped down all over her clothes.

"I'm bleeding."

Kimura turned around and took a deep breath.

"I can't stand the site of blood, but it is my responsibility as a teacher to care for my students. Tomo… let me walk you home."

"Huh, no, I'm ok. I can get home just fine. It not as bad as it looks."

Chihiro then smiled deviously, "No, Tomo, you should let him walk you home, what if you're not fine? What if you pass out in the street and get ran over by a car? "

"Chihiro has a point, Tomo. I don't want one of my favorite students getting killed in some accident. I will take you home." He then turned to Chihiro, "I'm sorry I can't finish walking you home Chihiro, but Tomo is injured and…bleh…bloody."

Chihiro responded politely, "Its ok Mr. Kimura, My house is just around the corner away."

Of course, Chihiro lied, but she wanted assure that Kimura would leave her alone. She then ran off leaving Tomo with him.

On the other side of Town a much lighter mood was in the air. There was a huge crowd out. Kids, couples, friends, tourists, all the having a good time. Kaori skipped along side her tall catch, Sakaki. Sakaki just walked smiling, wishing that she could look graceful if she ever decided to skip.

"What should we do Sakaki?" Kaori asked looking around her at all the entertainment stores and game rooms surrounding her.

Sakaki smiled, "I think we should get the ice cream."

The two girls walked around the crowds of people trying to stay together, but the hoards of people passed through them like a flood. Kaori fell behind Sakaki. She could see her sticking up from the shorter people around her, but couldn't push through to her. Sakaki had noticed that Kaori was not by her side and turned around. She saw Kaori not far behind raising her arm and jumping up and down.

"Sakaki, help!" she yelled.

Sakaki felt a sudden urge to be a hero. She wore a determined face as she made her way politely through the crowd. Kaori could see her Sakaki's grace as she glided through the crowd in her direction.

"She's looks so heroic coming to help me. Like my knight." Kaori squealed as a thought of Sakaki dressed as a night popped into her mind.

Sakaki quickly reached the girl in need and reached her hand out. Kaori looked up at her face and saw a firm, but loving look in her eyes. She was hesitant on what to do next. She couldn't believe Sakaki held out her hand towards her, assumingly to be grabbed. She didn't want to take a risk of grabbing it, though. She was, too worried that she might be holding her hand out for some other reason. Of course, not even she could think of another reason for her to stretch her arm out like that. Finally, Kaori heard two gentle words from Sakaki.

"Grab on."

Kaori shakily raised her hand up. She couldn't believe that she would get to touch her hand. She savored the milliseconds it took for her to wrap her fingers around Sakaki's soft hand. Her heart was speedily beating in her chest and she felt faint. She placed her hand over her chest. Sakaki could feel Kaori's hand shaking and see that the girl was looking red.

"Are you ok?"

Kaori immediately shouted stiffly, "Yes."

"Um…ok"

Kaori clenched the shirt on which her hand was still paced.

"Shoot, I didn't mean to shout that. I need to calm down." Kaori thought.

Sakaki continued to hold Kaori's hand to prevent her from drifting off with the passing people. She felt proud to know that she could protect her from being swept away. Looking down at Kaori, who was practically hyperventilating with bliss, she noticed something she never really thought of before. Kaori looked cute to her, the way she was holding her chest and smiling as her heavy breathes escaped her body. Sakaki blushed, Kaori reminded her of a small kitten. She felt that it was her job to keep that kitten safe and guide it.

Just minutes later they arrived at an ice cream shop. Kaori had begun to calm down from the excitement she was experiencing. Her breathing was returning to normal, but her face was still glowing.

"What flavor do you want?" Sakaki asked.

"Ah, er, I…" Kaori's mind was blank.

The man at the counter looked at Kaori panicking with concern and slight amusement. He smiled and leaned over to Sakaki.

"Is you're friend doing alright?" he said with his hand hovering over the side of his mouth.

"I think so…" Sakaki looked at Kaori still muttering over the question.

After a bit few minutes Sakaki and Kaori had ordered their ice cream. Sakaki had gotten a chocolate cone with sprinkles and a strawberry on top. Kaori ended up with some unknown flavor after saying that she would take anything since she couldn't decide. The man called "the flavor of the day", but it looked weeks old. Kaori couldn't tell if the green spots it were part of the ice cream or mold.

"Sakaki, I-I don't know how to repay you for your generosity." Kaori said bowing down.

"You don't have to pay me back. It's my treat."

Kaori was surprised back in the store when Sakaki offered to pay for both the ice creams. She was actually planning on treating Sakaki since she was the one who suggested getting it the in the first place. Sakaki's action had reminded her of the date she had with Tomo. They, too, went out for ice cream and she didn't have to pay.

"Is this like a date?" Kaori wondered to herself, "Sakaki never agreed to a date, but what I'm doing with her tonight is like what I did with Tomo. If what I did with Tomo was a date then this should be. Or does is have to be stated that it is a date before hand to make it official?"

Sakaki looked down at Kaori. She hadn't touched her ice cream and looked worried. Sakaki's protective instinct's told her to ask Kaori is she was feeling well.

"Um…Kaorin. Are you doing ok?"

Kaori broke free of her thought and look at Sakaki with a smile.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you seemed kinda of stressed earlier and in the ice cream shop. Also, You're ice cream has gone untouched and you seem a little worried about something."

"Oh, yeah, I'm just fine."

Sakaki blushed as Kaori replied to her. She couldn't get the thought out of her head that Kaori was a helpless kitten. There was something about her tonight that made Sakaki feel strong urges to protect her from harm. She again reached her hand down to Kaori, who then less hesitantly took hold. Kaori once again began to breath heavily and turn red, but less dramatically. Sakaki watched as Kaori struggled for breath and wanted to do something, but she quickly regained her composure.

Kaori and Sakaki finished off their ice cream as they walked. Kaori didn't know what she had just eaten, but tried not to think about any possibilities that it could have been. Sakaki seemed satisfied with her treat, but Kaori was much more satisfied than anyone could imagine. She was already thinking about writing her night down in her diary, then locking it away safely from people like Tomo.

"Let's go there." Sakaki suddenly said.

"Where?"

Sakaki pointed out the location. It was a small arcade with a few crane machines and games in it.

"Sure." Kaori agreed, and then went on thinking to herself, "I bet Sakaki wants to play a cool fighting game! She's so cool; she could no doubt beat any boy at the games. She has to have some awesome butt-kicking skills. I can't wait to see. Hmm, I wonder if she plays as a female or male fighter. Probably, a-"

Kaori's thoughts pause immediately as she saw Sakaki walk over to a crane machine filled with stuff animals.

"Watcha doing?" Kaori asked innocently.

"I wanted to try and win one of these animals."

"Huh? Then you're gonna play one of those sweet fighting games and kill everyone, right?!" Kaori hand her fists balled in excitement.

"K-kill?"

Kaori then came to a sudden conclusion, "Oh, wait. I get it, Sakaki, you don't have any opponents."

The two looked around the small arcade. There were very few people inside actually playing the games. Everyone was just hanging around and talking.

"Yeah," Kaori thought, "She just doesn't have any opponents! She probably has already scared everyone away from this arcade. Maybe I'll get to see her fight some other time."

Sakaki quickly spent about 1,000 yen in the machines trying to get a little kitten doll. She had previously won a few kitten dolls from the very same machine, but the kitten dolls inside this time were colored pink with black polka dots. Today was not her lucky day. A tear came to her eye and she pressed her hand against the glass that encaged the poor dolls.

"I'm sorry I couldn't free you." She muttered.

"What did you say?" Kaori asked thinking that Sakaki was speaking to her.

"Oh, nothing."

The two Spent a bit longer together just conversing about various subjects. Then Kaori checked her cell phone clock. It was almost 11:00. An empty feeling engulfed her as she knew it was time for her to leave Sakaki. She could see that Sakaki was already letting out a big yawn. The two walked on their ways home, both with tears bubbling in the corner of their eyes. Sakaki, because she could not rescue the poor kitten dolls from their prison and Kaori, because she had to leave Sakaki. Though, they both quickly got over their loss when they arrived home. Sakaki drowned herself in the sea of stuffed animals she made for herself and Kaori immediately went to log her day in her diary.


	14. Tomo's Correct Answer

WOW! That Friday went on for quite a while. 5 chapters! I'm glad it's over I wanted to get on to another day. I posted the last chapter up just a few days ago, but couldn't wait to post up the newest one. I get like that. If I have somethign to give someone I never can hold my patience. Anyway, I was reading my reviews just bit ago and I was feeling happy that people enjoy this story. Thank you everyone I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 14: Tomo's Correct Answer

"So, did everyone have a good weekend?" Miss Yukari questioned the class in front of her with glowing grin.

"Yes." Everyone said in unison.

"Good, good, I hope you really enjoyed it. I mean that."

The class wasn't smiling anymore, though. She seemed unusually happy for the beginning of a school week.

"I'm glad to see your happy Miss Yukari." A small voice spoke.

Miss Yukari looked over and saw Chiyo innocently looking up at her.

"Aww, how sweet, Chiyo, but in fact I'm not really happy. Actually, I'm in such a horrible mood that I figured that I should put on a big smile so that you all felt less threatened by me. My weekend was from hell." She explained with an odd joy filled voice that seemed more threatening than benevolent.

Chiyo's smile faded in an instant along with any hopes the class had for an easy day.

"Everyone seems to be here today. No…Wait a sec, Tomo is not here. Hmm… I guess today won't be all bad." Yukari said checking off her role. She then picked up her lesson book and began writing on the chalk board.

Yomi looked over at Tomo's empty chair feeling responsible for her absentness. She had her head rested on her hand and her glasses off. She didn't feel like wearing them. Beside her folded glasses on the desk was Tomo's phone, ready to be returned to Tomo.

Kagura turned around to Yomi who seated a few seats behind her and pointed to Tomo's seat. She moved her lips saying silently "You seen her?" Yomi couldn't understand what Kagura was trying to say, her lips moving were nothing more than a blur. She made puzzled face at Kagura who then tried speaking up a little louder.

"Have you seen Tomo today?" Kagura whispered.

Yomi shook her head slowly, and then squinted a little. She saw Miss Yukari sneaking up behind Kagura. She quickly made a motion for Kagura to turn around. She twirled her hand around in the air. Kagura didn't move she just kept looking at her with a stupid look on her face.

"What does that mean?"

Kagura then mimicked Yomi. Miss Yukari was just looming over Kagura with her fake smile on. The whole class was in seconds looking at Yukari as her stiff smile slowly turned into a twisted face of anger. Yomi then tried pointing.

"What are you pointing at, Yomi?"

Yomi was getting fed up with Kagura's ignorance and just shouted at her, "Turn around!"

"Agh, you don't have to yell." Kagura said then flipped around.

"So, what are you two talking about?" hissed Yukari.

Kagura screamed a little upon seeing the monstrous face of her teacher. The rest of the class sat in complete silence trying not to further her anger.

"You two don't push me today. I tried being non-threatening, but I doubt I can keep up that guise if you two keep talk-"

The class door slammed open interrupting the frightening speech Yukari was giving. Tomo was standing in the doorway with a huge grin spread across her face.

"I'm here!" she chirped.

"All three of you! OUT! OUT! OUT!"

"What did I do?" Tomo asked unknowing of Yukari's rage.

Kagura slowly turned her head towards Tomo. Tomo then let her grin down and immediately computed her in her head what was happening. She saw Kagura's horrified expression and angry Yukari standing over the poor girl.

"Uh-oh." She peeped.

Tomo, Kagura and Yomi walked together in the halls, the three of them "exiled" from class. At least that is how Yukari put the wording. Chiyo walked in front of the nervously.

"Why are you walking so stiff Chiyo?" Kagura asked.

"I'm afraid that if I do a bad job then Miss Yukari will punish me." Chiyo said keeping her head pointing straight ahead.

"I don't get it. Why did Yukari have Chiyo walk us around the school?"

"I know!" exclaimed Tomo, " It's because her punishment for us was so cruel that she decided just to let us leave, Chiyo is here to keep us together so that in between classes she will bring us back so we face our punishment. Is that why you're here Chiyo?"

"No, I'm here to make sure that you three don't talk in the halls. So please keep quite…I don't want her to kill me."

"She isn't going to kill you." Kagura reassured Chiyo.

"Yeah, she would just violently torture you." Tomo said.

Chiyo turned around with big tears in her eyes.

"Tomo!" Yomi scolded.

Tomo flinched expecting a fist to come down on her head, but Yomi didn't move from her position. She was standing on the other side of Kagura to the left. Tomo was walking on the right side of Kagura. The large bandage on her head was out of view of everyone. She actually wondered why no one had come to question it, but it had just been conveniently out of view for a bit. Tomo knew that she couldn't let that go on any longer so she spoke out.

"Have you guys seen my head?"

"Huh, yeah, I saw it the day I met you." Kagura said.

"No, I mean look." Tomo turned her head around and pointed to the huge white bandage kept on with medical tape.

"What the…" Kagura gasped.

Chiyo placed her hand over her mouth.

Yomi glanced over for a second, but didn't say anything.

"How'd it happen?" Kagura asked anxiously awaiting Tomo's answer

Tomo closed her eyes proudly, "It happened on my way home from Yomi's house."

Yomi cringed as Tomo said that. It reminded her of her failed attempt to express her feelings to her.

Tomo continued her story, "Yup, I don't know if I left at the wrong time or what, but I was just walking and the next thing I know…BAM…!" Tomo shouted.

Chiyo waved her arms nervously trying make Tomo quiet down, but Tomo just kept talking.

"…Chihiro ran right into me knocking me down and the weird part was that Mr. Kimura was chasing her trying to apologize for something."

"That is freaky." Kagura commented.

"I know, but even weirder, he walked me home!"

"He did!" Kagura and Chiyo exclaimed at the same time, Chiyo quickly covered her mouth and looked around for Yukari.

"Did he try to make any moves on you?"

Tomo then went silent for a second.

Yomi was intently listening to Tomo's story, feeling responsible for Tomo's injury. She thought that if she didn't kiss she would have stayed a little longer and avoided her run in with Chihiro.

"Well, how was Kimura?" Kagura asked again.

"He…he actually was not bad."

"Really."

"Please, guys, for my sake, keep it down." Chiyo pleaded, "Why can't you be more like Yomi?"

"Hey yeah! What' up with you Yomi?" Tomo asked.

Yomi just looked at her wondering why she was acting so typical. Last Yomi saw her she was very lifeless and shocked.

"Did she forgot about what had happened on Friday? Did that bump cause amnesia?" Yomi thought. She doubted it, but wanted to see for sure.

"Hey Tomo!" Yomi said.

"Hey, now you're talking."

"Tomo, why where you at my house on Friday. Do you remember what happened?"

Tomo thought, "Of course I remember, talked for a bit, and then fell asleep. Then you gave me a test! After that I left."

"Test?" Yomi thought, "What is she talking about, "She remembers everything else that happened, but not the kiss. Maybe that bump did do something."

Yomi then immediately grabbed Chiyo by the arm and dragged her off to the side of the hall. Chiyo yelped at the sudden grab.

"Chiyo, is it possible for someone to forget something that happened in a day, but remember everything else besides that one thing?"

"Umm…I think so. I have heard stories of people blocking out certain events that had traumatized theme. It's a natural self-defense."

"Well, what if they get a major blow to the head right after the event happened. Do you think that can cause a weird sort of amnesia or something?"

"I'm not really sure, I don't think it's impossible, but it does take some time for an event to make it into long-term memory. Maybe if the event was still in their short-term memory and the injury affect that part of the brain, but I'm not a doctor or anything."

"Hmm…that must be the case." Yomi said rubbing her chin.

Chiyo smiled and rejoined Kagura and Tomo who were beginning to act up. Chiyo tried to quiet them down the best she could. Yomi smiled as she waved her small arms around trying to calm down to energetic girls. She was unsure, though, whether Tomo truly forgot about Friday night or not, but decided it was best not to talk about it. She was curious why Tomo said that she gave her a test, though. Yomi walked over to the three.

"Tomo, what test did I give you?"

Tomo looked at Yomi, ignoring Chiyo who was still stressing out, "She must still be testing me." Tomo concluded, then spoke up, "Oh, you'll see my correct answer when we get to Kimura's class."

"Correct answer?" Yomi repeated with confusion.

"Yup, I thought it over all weekend. Just you wait! You'll be so proud of me."

"Um…sure…" Yomi was completely oblivious to what Tomo was talking about, but she then suddenly remembered that she had to return her phone, "Anyway, Tomo, I got your cell."

Yomi held it up and Tomo snatched it away, "Thanks, Yomi. Did I get any calls?"

"Nope."

Tomo messed around with her phone as if it was the first day she got it. Then the four girls continued walking down the halls of the school. Kagura was a bit intrigued by what Tomo had said about a "correct answer". She knew that if Tomo was involved it would be entertaining.

Miss Yukari's strange punishment had ended and Kagura looked at the clock as she sat in second class. Her mind swelled with anticipation for what Tomo would unleash in Kimura's class. Usually Kagura wouldn't have been so anxious to see what Tomo had to offer, but recently things have been very strange and Tomo was the cause of it all. Kagura didn't know the reason Tomo decided to want Kaori, but it sure shook things up. Then the next thing she knows Tomo has an usual story involving Mr. Kimura chasing Chihiro with the end result being a cool, or at least Kagura thought, bandage on her head. Now Tomo is spouting out news of her latest plan. Kagura slammed her hand on her desk.

"Why does Tomo always have all the fun? She always seems to have something interesting happening to her. She sees hilarious sight like Kimura Chasing Chihiro and even brought on a complete overhaul on Kaorin's personality. Though, Kaorin seems to only act more relaxed around Tomo. I wonder what makes her so lucky to have such a cool life."

Kagura turned away form the clock and looked at Tomo. She was poking holes in her eraser with a pen. Then she looked in Kagura's direction and smiled. Kagura smiled back.

"What doe she do differently? She has to be going at life differently for it to give her so much action."

Kagura looked around the room slowly. She saw Sakaki sitting in her chair, she looked a little out of it. There was Osaka struggling to keep her eyes open. Then she noticed Kaori sitting dreamily looking over at Sakaki.

"That's it! Tomo is dating Kaori and she is a girl. Tomo is a girl, too! That is her approach on life. So, if I'm right, I need to date another girl to make my life more action packed."

Kagura smiled as she solved her problem.

"You look happy." The male teacher said to her in a cunning tone.

"Huh?"

"I guess you wouldn't mind solving this problem then?"

Kagura smiled weakly and go up out of her chair to answer the math problem written on the board. She sloppily wrote down the wrong answer to concerned with her own quest for an action packed life. She then sat down.

"What?!" the teacher shocked, "Did you even look at the problem?"

"Yes, sir." Kagura answered.

"Then why did you write your name in place of the answer?"

"Oops."

The class had a laugh and the teacher held his head feeling hopeless for the students. Then the bell sounded for the class to end. The teacher packed up his things and left the classroom slowly and disappointed. Kagura smiled at him to try and cover for her stupid mistake, but he just shook his head. As soon as he left Kagura darted out of her seat over to Sakaki.

"Hi." Sakaki greeted.

"Hey, Sakaki! I have a favor to ask you."

"Shoot."

Kagura leaned over and whispered into Sakaki's ear. Sakaki shook her head after Kagura pulled away.

"Why not?" Kagura whined.

"I already have enough people saying things as I walk down the hall."

"But, it's just for pretend. Ya know I'm not like that."

Sakaki just shook her head again. Kagura crossed her arms angrily and turned around. Osaka's face popped up.

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout?"

"Nothing." Said Sakaki.

Then Kagura's face lit up with an idea. She pulled Osaka outside into the hall. Osaka let out a yelp as Kagura forced her out.

"What's up?" Osaka asked.

"Will you please do me a favor?" Kagura pleaded.

"Sure, anything for a friend."

Kagura whispered into Osaka's ear then pulled away when she was done hoping not to see her head shake in rejection. Osaka didn't shake her head, though.

"This is only for pretend? Why?"

"'Cause, I'm it's the only way to make my life more interesting. Haven't you noticed how much fun Tomo is having? Don't you want to have an awesome life full of adventure?"

"Well, I would like that…" Osaka trailed off still unsure of what to say.

"Please! Please! Please!" Kagura groveled.

Osaka sighed, "I guess so, but ya can't go kissin' me or nothin'. Huggin' is fine, though, I like hugs."

"Heh," Kagura laughed, "Like I would kiss a girl and I don't really see any reason to hug you."

Osaka just looked at Kagura. Kagura slowly and shakily raise her hand to Osaka's.

"Ok, now you have to hold my hand. Otherwise this won't look convincing and if it isn't convincing then what we are doing is pointless."

Osaka silently grasped Kagura's hand.

"It's rough." She commented.

"Yeah, I know. I lift weights so my hand had gotten a little a calloused. Anyway, we are going to walk back into the class and I will make the announcement. Then our lives will change for the better!"

The two girls awkwardly walked into the classroom holding hands. The whole class was busy wrapped up in their own business and nobody noticed that they even stepped out. Chihiro noticed, though, she had kept her eye on Osaka the whole day. She was still stressing over what Osaka had told her at the theater.

"What is she up to." Chihiro spoke softly to herself.

Tomo across the room was hanging around Yomi.

"Ok, Yomi get prepared for my correct answer. I should do it before Kimura gets here."

"Ok, you better hurry he should be here any second."

"Sure thing!" Tomo gave a thumbs-up and began walking across the room, but she stopped her in her tracks when she heard Kagura yelling at the front of the room.

"Listen everyone!" Kagura shouted still holding Osaka's hand.

The class quieted down and looked at her.

"Ok, everyone. See this?" She held her and Osaka's hand up, "Osaka and I are now officially dating!"

Osaka waved and smiled at the class. The boys in the class started hooting and the girls gasped. Chihiro sat silently in her desk looking at Osaka smile.

"She must be up to something. This probably has to do with me and Kaorin, but what is she going to do. I'll have to keep watching her. I do not want to get in my business."

Sakaki and Yomi looked blankly at the spectacle and Tomo cheered. Chiyo walked over to Sakaki.

"So, Tomo is dating a Kaorin and now Kagura is dating Osaka. I don't get it."

Sakaki just kept looking at Kagura and Osaka, "I don't get it either."

The class suddenly silenced when they saw Mr. Kimura walk in the room through the door Kagura left open.

"Why did everyone go silent? Did I miss something?" He asked.

Kagura an Osaka stood looking at him. He turned his head stiffly towards them. He observed the two girls. Osaka smiling at him and Kagura looking like she was about to run away. He then walked past them to his desk and set his briefcase down.

"So, why are you two holding hands?"

Osaka figured she should answer, "Because we are d-"

Kagura slapped her hand onto her mouth. She did not want him to know, but her attempt was futile. Tomo shouted out.

"They are dating now!"

"Ah, thank you Tomo, is your head doing good?"

"Yup, thanks for asking."

Mr. Kimura's face then turned bright red and he turned around. His arms shot straight into the air.

"Yippee!" he shouted.

He then turned around and straightened his tie. Kagura and Osaka fled to their seats as they saw it was time for class to start. Tomo also crept to her seat along with Chiyo.

"Alright, everyone," Mr. Kimura began, " I have a new rule for this class. Chihiro already knows what it is. Don't you, Chihiro?"

The class turned their heads towards Chihiro who was hiding her face in embarrassment. She could here a few whispers from students questioning why Mr. Kimura was pointing her out. A chair then screeched across the floor. It nearly tipped over as Tomo leaped up with her hand raised.

"Yes, Tomo?" Mr. Kimura acknowledged her.

"Before you make your announcement, I have one really quick."

Mr. Kimura shrugged, "Be quick."

Tomo sloppily made her way to Kaori who was sitting peacefully until Tomo yanked her up. She dragged her to the front of the room and Kaori stumbled behind her. Kagura's eyes lit up as she realized this must be the thing Tomo was speaking about earlier.

"Pay attention, Yomi! This is my correct answer!" Tomo shouted.

The class turned their head over to Yomi. She smiled nervously and the class then turned back to the front.

"Correct answer?" Kaori repeated.

Yomi was in her seat cringing at what Tomo might do, "No, no, no" she repeated to herself.

Chihiro was also tense in her seat waiting to what crazy plan Tomo had.

Kagura watched closely hoping to witness a humorous display. She watched as Tomo smoothly move her head closer to Kaori. It seemed like slow motion to her as she saw Tomo wiped her tongue across her lips. Her arms wrapped around Kaori. Kaori didn't struggle at all she didn't have a clue what was happening. Kimura's glasses glared as he watched. The whole class was in total silenced staring closely as Tomo's lips met to Kaori's.

"Oh my g… where? Where is my camera?!" Mr. Kimura freaked out yanking the drawers from his desk.

The students in the class didn't cringe or gasp or even blink. They never expected to see anything of that sort, not even form the most spontaneous girl in school. Kagura looked in astonishment as she saw what Tomo meant by the "correct answer". Chiyo was covering her eyes with both hands. Sakaki blushed and tried to look away, but felt compelled to look. Yomi was in her seat staring at Tomo with her lips pressed against Kaori. Drops of tears silently flowed down her cheeks. She was completely frozen. Osaka was aware of Yomi's reaction to Tomo's stunt and took a mental note.

"Everything is making more sense." She thought to herself

Chihiro immediately bolted up from her chair causing it to toppled over with a loud crash, "What the HELL do you think you're doing!?"

Tomo let go of Kaori and shifted her attention to Chihiro. Kaori leaned back on Mr. Kimura's after Tomo let go of her. She blushed profusely and began fanning herself. She felt embarrassed and saddened that her first kiss was not by Sakaki, but she couldn't help but feel a bit satisfied. A little smirk appeared on her face, but she tried to hide it.

"What are you talking about?" Tomo asked.

Chihiro began walking to the front of the classroom, "Tomo, I have put up with you long enough. I watched in the background as you and Kaorin spent so much time together! I never said anything at all! I supported Kaorin, but now I am not going to support her anymore! Tomo, I hate you, you ruin everything!"

Chihiro charge rapidly at Tomo with her fist raised high. Kaori knew what Chihiro was going to do and she didn't want her to. She pushed Tomo out of the way, but just the slightest bit too late. In an instant she felt the full force of Chihiro's fist smash into her face. Her cheek was pounded by a surprisingly powerful force. Everyone cringed at the sound the strike made. She twirled downwards to the floor and a sudden thought sparked in head. She knew she was now facing downwards and it would be inevitable to escape the pain of her nose crunching on the tile. An instant feeling of regret bolted through her heart right before nose collided with a loud echoing crack.

Everyone jumped when Kaori's face smacked into the floor. A few boys in the front row darted over to her, but Mr. Kimura ran in circles yelling about first aid and bandages. Kaori lifted herself on her arms and stared at the ground. The boys knelt down to try and lift her up but she waved her arms in protest without turning her head. They reluctantly backed away. Tomo lowered herself down. She saw blood flowing from Kaori's face down onto the spot on which she fell. The small puddle was beginning to grow. She turned her head away slightly trying not to see the gruesome sight, but she could not ignore the heavy gargled breathing that came from her. Everyone could hear the sound, it made their souls flinch to hear such a distressing noise coming come from the normally shy Kaori. Kimura even silenced when he heard the desperate sounds to gather air. It didn't seem right that she, of all people in the class, would be the one in such a position.

"Kaori." Tomo said in concern. She remembered a conversation with Yomi concerning on what to address her by and she thought now an appropriate time to start calling her by her true name.

"Kaorin, I-I didn't mean…" Chihiro tried to speak, but she couldn't think of any words powerful enough to portray her regret for what she had done.

Tomo tried to wrap her arms her to help her lift up, but then she coughed up a spurt of blood. She then burst out in tears. Chihiro's heart was slowly breaking as she observed the pain she had put her friend into. Every second that passed her by she could feel a needle puncture her heart. She slowly backed away wanting to look away from what she had done, but her guilt was forcing her to keep her head straight. She couldn't take the site anymore and so she ran out of the class in shame.


	15. Talk on the Roof

Chapter 15: Talk on the Roof

Mr. Kimura's class had ended. The bell rang signifying that it was now lunch time. Kimura left the room slowly with his head hanging low. The shock of what had happened earlier was still fresh in him. The other students, though, we're already talking. They were discussing what had happened. It seemed that they wanted to comment on it for the whole class period. Kaori wasn't around to here anything the class had to say. Chihiro wasn't either. Kaori was walked to the clinic by Tomo and Chihiro hadn't been seen by anyone since.

Sakaki walked over to Chiyo to see how she was doing. Osaka and Kagura followed after a moment. Then Tomo made her way over. Yomi sat in her seat looking out the window with a blank look on her face. Her glasses were folded her desk. She didn't feel like wearing them. It was easier just to leave them off and rest her eyes.

Tomo ran over to Yomi's desk. She was smiling as if nothing had happened. Yomi looked up her bright faced with a carefree smile plastered on.

"Hi." Yomi muttered so lowly that Tomo could only assume that she was greeted.

"Hey, Yomi, We're gonna go eat lunch on the roof. Come on!"

Yomi gazed at Tomo, without saying a word, wondering how she could be smiling with such energy after what she had done. She looked at her eyes. It was difficult to tell if Tomo's expression was genuine. She was either good at faking emotions or actually happy.

"Why are you smiling?" Yomi asked.

Tomo's smile faded and turned into bafflement, "Huh, what do you mean?"

"Just answer the question, Tomo. Why are you smiling at me?"

"Um, I-I just feel like smiling." Tomo answered.

"You do?"

Yomi turned her head away from Tomo and continued to look out the window.

"Is something wrong, Yomi?" Tomo questioned in concern.

"No." Yomi replied without turning her head. Then she got up and grabbed her bag and placed her glasses in her pocket, "let's go."

Tomo was feeling a bit unsettled by Yomi's strange behavior, but figured that she was upset over Kaori's injury. Everybody then left the class for their quick lunch break.

On the roof the girls sat next to each other lined up with their lunches placed in their laps. Everyone ate silently. Tomo waiting for someone to bring up the kiss she planted on Kaori and the aftermath that followed, but they were all too afraid that the subject would be too sensitive. After moments of hearing nothing but chewing and chopsticks knocking on bento boxes Tomo spoke up.

"Kaori will be fine."

Everybody except Yomi turned to her.

"What did the nurse say?" Chiyo asked.

"Well, after all of her blood was wiped up and her nose stopped bleeding, all she had was cut on her nose and a bruised cheek. She should heal up just fine."

"Most of her, anyway." Yomi suddenly commented.

Everyone turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Sakaki questioned.

"She may heal physically, but she may be mentally scarred or something."

"Scarred?" Chiyo repeated.

"Yeah, think about it. First, Tomo kissed her out of nowhere. Then the next thing she knows her best friend is punching her to the ground."

"You're right about Chihiro, but I don't think my kiss would have made her go crazy or anything." Tomo said with a bit of arrogance.

Yomi turned away. Everybody went silent for a second, and then Kagura decided to ask a question that had been bugging her for a bit.

"Hey Tomo, why did you call that your 'correct answer'? How is getting Kaorin nailed in the face correct?"

"Hey, I didn't punch her! Besides the kiss was the correct answer not what Chihiro did. I don't know why she did that in the first place. I didn't do anything to her. I was just happy that Kaori was so nice to take the blow for me."

Yomi cringed at Tomo's words. She remembered the time she spoke with Chihiro and how she cried. Tomo had been putting Chihiro through a lot lately and she never noticed at all. She wasn't surprised at all that Chihiro tried to take a swing at her.

"Chihiro wouldn't just attack you without reason, Tomo. Can't you think of anything you might have done to her or…maybe something you might have taken from her?" Yomi said in a frustrated voice.

Tomo put her finger to her chin as she thought a bit, and then she answered, "Nope."

"I can." Yomi responded.

"What?"

"You took Kaori from her. When you began dating her you stole Chihiro's best friend from her."

"Yeah, so?" Tomo responded, "It was Kaori's choice to hang out with me and not her. If Chihiro wanted her so bad then why didn't she say anything?"

Yomi's tone of voice grew more hostile, "Tomo, sometimes it is hard to say things."

"Well, if she wasn't going to say anything about us why did she launch an attack on me? Then nobody would have been hurt!" Tomo responded with an equally hostile tone.

Kagura looked over to Osaka with wide eyes that said "This isn't going to turn out good". Chiyo had a frown on her face as she watched two of her friends sparking up an argument and Sakaki had her hand placed on Chiyo's shoulder to give her some comfort.

"Tomo," Yomi shouted as she angrily stood up, "Stop trying to put the blame on others! Everything that happened was your fault!"

Tomo bolted up and her lunch fell to the ground, "How is it MY fault?!"

"YOU were the one who began dating Kaori because of your stupid scheme!"

"It isn't stupid! It is helping her! "

"Yeah, Tomo, it really helps her a lot to be punched by her best friend! Besides how is YOU kissing her gonna get her closer to Sakaki?!" Yomi sarcastically responded.

At the sound of Yomi's words Tomo went silent realizing what she had said. Sakaki's attention was immediately caught also. She turned directly to Yomi who also had realized that she said something she shouldn't have. The tense atmosphere began to fade a bit as Tomo and Yomi cut the argument.

"What did you say?" She asked.

Yomi didn't answer. Tomo looked away.

"Yomi, Tomo, if you know something concerning me I would like to know. Tell me." She insisted.

Yomi walked over to Tomo, "It was your plan to begin with. You tell her. I'm leaving."

Yomi grabbed her bag and quickly exited the roof still angry at Tomo. Now, Tomo was stuck to explain herself and Kaori. She squished between Kagura Sakaki to tell explain what Yomi brought up. Kagura and Osaka both leaned towards the out of curiosity. Chiyo was also gazing in with an interested face. Tomo didn't see any harm in the hearing the situation as they have already observed Kaori dating her. She opened her explanation with the diary she found. Chiyo remembered that incident. Then went on talking about what was written in it, but not in great detail as she wanted to keep some privacy in Kaori's life. Sakaki blushed as Tomo spoke. She never imagined someone could view her the way Kaori did. At the end of her brief, but revealing story everybody except Tomo and Sakaki, who was red in the face, had blank expressions.

"She likes me? Like she wants to go out with me or something?" Sakaki asked with disbelief.

"Yup, she has been crushing on you for awhile?" Tomo nodded.

Sakaki held her face, "I can't believe it. I feel so…flattered, but also…guilty."

Kagura was behind Tomo making impatient faces. She had a burning question, but Tomo was still busy with Sakaki.

"Why do you feel guilty?"

"Because," Sakaki explained, "I just don't feel that way about girls. I really like Kaorin as a friend, but I can't date her. I feel guilty making her feel the way she does. I don't want her to hurt, but…"

"It's ok, Sakaki." Chiyo chimed in.

Sakaki turned to her, "Huh?"

"Don't feel guilty. It isn't your fault that she feels this way about you just like it isn't Osaka's fault that Kagura feels that way about her."

Kagura smiled sheepishly at Chiyo's statement.

"Thank you, Chiyo." Sakaki smiled warmly at her.

"Question!" Kagura suddenly shouted.

"What?!" Tomo shouted back.

"Why did you kiss Kaorin if you were trying to hook her up with Sakaki?"

"Because…I…Yomi…" Tomo didn't know what to answer, "I don't know anymore…" Tomo then whispered sadly.

After the fight she had with Yomi, the reason for kissing Kaori seemed to fade. She thought that was what she thought that was what Yomi would have wanted, but Yomi had gotten angry which confused her.

"I thought I was doing the right thing, but Yomi yelled at me." Tomo's head was hung low.

"I don't know why she got so angry. It's none of her business what you do." Kagura said trying to cheer up Tomo.

"But Yomi did have a reason for getting' involved." Osaka burst in.

"What do you mean?" Kagura inquired turning to her.

"For as long as I have known Yomi, she doesn't seem like the type ta start a fight without a good reason. We may not know what the reason is, but it's definitely there."

Kagura agreed, "Your right, Yomi is one of the most sensible people I know, she wouldn't just fight with Tomo for no reason." Kagura turned to Tomo, "Sorry, but Osaka has a point. Maybe you should talk with Yomi to see why she got so P.Oed."

"What is there to talk about? She clearly doesn't give a crap about me. I already tried to do what she wanted and she shot me down. She is just trying to mess with me." Tomo said gloomily.

"Tomo please don't say that. She is your friend! Just wait until you cool down a little." Chiyo pleaded.

"How is she trying to mess with you?" Sakaki asked.

Tomo intentionally went silent. She did not want to talk about what Yomi did on Friday. She didn't like thinking about it because it made her feel weird. Though, she was certain now that Yomi only had bad intentions by kissing her. There was nothing in the kiss except the hopes of perplexing her and screwing with her emotions. Tomo brought herself to her feet once more and then walked away leaving her belongings on the roof.


	16. Destinations

I got a new system for updating chapters that will hopefully work. Well, actually I hope I can keep up with it. Anyway, here is this portion of the story. I am going to get the next chapter done as soon as I can. I just started summer school. I wanted to get some classes out of the way quickly, so…Nah! I don't think they will interfere. Hahaha! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 16: Destinations

School had ended. Yomi and Tomo did not talk for the remainder of the day. It was very awkward for everyone. Chiyo, at one point tried to convince Yomi to talk with Tomo, but she just ignored her request with an impolite grunt. Tomo then scolded Chiyo to stop interfering. Sakaki, though, came to her defense and warded off Tomo who then apologized realizing that Chiyo was just trying to help. Aside from the negative vibes between Yomi and Tomo, Chihiro was still no where to be found and people were beginning to worry.

Chiyo, Sakaki and Osaka stood at near the entrance gate of the school talking about the day. The three still surprised by the day's events. They would have been on there way homes, but they were waiting for Kagura to join them. She never had walked with the on their way home because her house was in the opposite direction of theirs, but she insisted on walking home with Osaka. She even skipped her swim meet.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Kagura shouted as she raced to the school entrance.

When she met up with them, the four left for their houses.

"Kagura, isn't it kind of difficult to walk home with us if your house is in the opposite direction?" Chiyo pointed out.

"Ha! It may be, but I am dating Osaka now. It is my duty to walk my girlfriend home, even if she does live in the opposite direction of me and I have to miss swim meet."

"I like your enthusiasm." Osaka complimented.

"No prob."

Sakaki glanced at Kagura then spoke to Osaka, "Why did you decide to start dating Kagura?

Osaka gladly answered the question, "Well, I am not sure what exactly it was 'bout her, but I got this feelin' one day and it was sayin', 'darn it, ya should ask out Kagura! I bet it'd spice up your life!' I listened ta the feelin' and here I am."

"Ah." Sakaki said softly then continued walking, "You know Kagura asked me to pretend date her first."

"Oh," Osaka realized, "Well if that's the case, I thought I might as well help out Kagura. 'Sides, we both want more excitin' lives and accordin' ta Kagura, this is how ta make it happen." Osaka slammed her fist into her hand as if demonstrating a point.

"Wait, Osaka and Kagura aren't dating for real?" Chiyo asked.

Sakaki shook her head, "No, Kagura is just doing as some experiment."

"Oh."

"Don't tell anyone that it's for pretend, Chiyo-chan. Otherwise, our plan won't work." Osaka whispered with her hand to the side of her mouth as if she was hiding her words from listener's ears.

Chiyo nodded with a straight face under the impression that what Osaka and Kagura where doing had some importance to it.

Sakaki felt better after telling Chiyo that Kagura and Osaka were faking their relationship. She didn't want Chiyo to observe them act as a fake couple and have her views on true couples distorted. She felt responsible for making sure Chiyo was not exposed to anything that could have a negative effect on her. Kagura and Osaka did not have the feelings for each other necessary to make a good example of a healthy relationship.

A few moments later, after everything was settled with Chiyo, it came time for Sakaki to leave her friends. Osaka, Kagura and Chiyo took a turn while Sakaki kept heading straight. She waved to her friends as they disappeared then continued on her way. Her head was pointing straight ahead, as she walked, but her eyes were jolting left and right. She was approaching the area where she had encountered a cat before. It was a nice dark gray cat that always slept on a wall. She had seen it many times before and tried to give it a rub, but whenever her hand approached it she would get a big bite. She had excused the earlier incidents on the cat's bad mood, but this time she was hoping that it may be in a good mood.

She scanned the area quickly to keep up with her hasty walking speed. She only walked at her normal speed when she was alone because her friends complained that she went to quick for the. She couldn't help it, though; her legs were used to going slightly faster than the average persons. The only person who never complained was Kagura, she walked the same about the same speed as Sakaki, but she didn't care to slow down for anybody unless she was conversing with them.

So far, she had seen nothing that even resembled the cat. Not even a tree branch out of a corner of her eye to trick it into believing a cat was lying on the wall she was walking next to. Sakaki picked up her pace. She scanned even quicker than before. The cat had to be somewhere; it couldn't have left the area. Then a quick doubt hit her. What if it did leave? What if it left because she tired so hard to pet it when it was in a bad mood? She picked up speed again, refusing to believe that it would leave because of her. As she walked faster it became harder to watch for the cat on the wall. As her eyes were busy looking left and right she was not looking ahead of her. She saw quick glimpses ahead as she switched directions to look, but it wasn't enough to notice the little things in front of her. A tree branch was heading straight towards her. She caught a quick look at it right before she ran into it. She stopped immediately.

What Sakaki saw in front of her was horrifying. A perfectly built spider web with tons of little insects wrapped up. Crawling rapidly around the web was a huge black spider that could easily frighten the bravest man if it had landed on him. It had long hairy legs and a large head that had eight tiny red eyes and pincers. The monstrous arachnid was only about a centimeter from her face. If the wind blew the slightest bit it could easily crawl into her nose. She didn't inhale in fear that her breath would inhale the web allowing for the spider to reach her. She didn't want to exhale either. By doing so it may move the web away, but it would most likely swing back with unwanted results.

Very slowly and carefully, Sakaki inched backwards. Every step she took the distance between her and the spider grew, until she felt safe to breath again. She placed her had over her chest and could feel her heart beating heavily and took one more step back. That last step, however, she regretted very second she heard a painful shriek that belonged to a cat. She sprang forward in shock and landed her hair right into the spider's web. Immediately he knew that the spider had gotten on her. She frantically, swiped at her hair hoping to get the spider off. She turned around in panic and saw the cute gray cat running away. She stopped panicking for a second as she saw it tail swinging as it dashed down the alley. She reached out a hand reaching for the cat she could never reach. Then let it down as it disappeared by jumping over the wall in the distance. Then, Sakaki remembered the disgusting spider she had disturbed and again wiped at her hair in a panic. She then ran as she flailed her arms hoping to swing the bug off.

After running a bit, she was fairly certain that it couldn't be attached to her anymore, but there was no sure way of telling. She looked at her arms. There was nothing on them, but she patted her arms up and down roughly, so that she could kill the spider if it had crawled in her sleeves. She would have rather had a dead spider on her than a live on. Then she stretched her legs out in front of her to check for anything. So far, there was no sign of the spider. Lastly, she hesitantly pulled her hair from behind her, half expecting to see it where it would have mostly likely been. Her hair seemed clean except for bit of a web tangled in. With her mind more at ease, she took a look at her surroundings. She ran a little off her route. Though, it wouldn't be a problem to get home. She noticed that she was only a few blocks away from Kaori's house. As long as she was around, she figured she would stop by her house to see how she had faired since the injury and talk to her about what Tomo had said.

Just as Sakaki began her way to Kaori's house, Chiyo was arriving at hers. Osaka and Kagura stood next to her waiting for her gate to open.

"Do you want to stay for bit?" Chiyo politely offered.

Kagura was about to yell out her answer, but Osaka quickly spoke out, "We'd really like ta, but we can't Chiyo-chan. We have some work ta do."

Chiyo smiled, "I understand."

The gate to Chiyo's house had opened and she strolled down the walkway to her house. She waved to Osaka and Kagura. They both waved back. The gate began to close as Chiyo approached the front door and then they could no longer see her.

"I wanted to hangout." Kagura moaned.

"Sorry, Kagura, but we have some work ta do." Osaka said again.

"What work?" Kagura crossed her arms.

Osaka set down her school bag and opened it up. She then pulled out a small notebook.

"What's that?' Kagura asked.

"Observations." Osaka responded.

"Of what?"

"A mission."

"A mystery?! Cool!"

"No, a mission. You're gonna help me on the mission since we're datin' now."

"Ok, sounds fun!" Kagura smiled to herself, "So, what is the mystery."

Osaka looked at Kagura, "Mission"

Kagura looked back into Osaka's eyes, "Myst…Mission…Mission."

Osaka firmly nodded as Kagura understood.

"Let's go." Osaka announced pointing in the direction in which to walk.

Kagura ran off in the direction. Osaka sprinted clumsy as she tried to catch up to the speedy girl while locking back her school bag. Kagura suddenly stopped in her tracks. She was at the end of the sidewalk and there were two directions that could be taken. She waited for Osaka to catch up.

"Where do we go now, Osaka?" Kagura asked as Osaka approached.

Osaka stopped next to Kagura panting heavily with her hands on her knees. "I'm not…huff…Osaka anymore."

Kagura looked down at Osaka panting with a confused face, "What? Who are you then?"

"I'm…huff… Ayumu Kasuga."

"Who is that?"

Osaka went silent for second as she caught her breath. Then she stood straight up and spoke more clearly, "That's my real name."

Kagura jumped back, "No, wait, wha..! You're real name isn't Osaka?!"

"No, that's my nickname. Tomo gave it ta me. I don't mind it, but if ya gonna be datin' me, then I want ya ta call me by my real name." She said replied to Kagura.

"No prob, Ayumu." Kagura replied giving a cheesy thumbs up and a smile.

Osaka grinned at Kagura. It had been awhile since she had been called by her real name by someone other than her parents.

"So, Ayumu," Kagura said, "What is this mission then, Ayumu?"

"Ok, I'll have ta start at the beginnin'."

"Ok, Ayumu, Let's start from the beginnin', Ayumu. I can't wait to hear, Ayumu." Kagura said.

Osaka gave her an odd look, "Why are ya sayin' my name so much?"

"I need to make it a habit, Ayumu. Otherwise I would keep calling you Osaka, Ayumu."

"Ooh, very clever logic."

Osaka and Kagura both walked to the destination that only Osaka knew the location of. Kagura was anxious and wanted to walk ahead, but then she would have to wait for Osaka anyway so that she could point out the correct direction. She didn't want to spend so much time walking, though, but she knew Osaka wouldn't be able to keep up with her. Then a seemingly ingenious idea popped into her head. She stopped Osaka by placing her arm out in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Osaka questioned.

"You walk slow, Ayumu." Kagura replied.

"Sorry." Osaka then apologized and looked at her legs, "but my legs are just li'l sticks. Why can't ya be more muscular legs?"

Kagura knelt down, "Get on my back. I'll carry you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just make sure you tell me when to turn."

Osaka picked up both her and Kagura's bag then slowly climbed on her "girlfriend's" back. She wrapped her arms loosely around her neck with one bag in each hand. Then placed her legs at her sides. She then picked up Osaka's legs by the thigh and when she felt comfortable lifted her up.

"Wow, your really strong." Osaka complimented.

"Thanks, I work out a bit."

"Hehe, I also noticed ya stopped sayin' my name so much."

"Yeah, I think I got it down, Ayumu." Kagura smiled.

"Thank ya." Osaka expressed as she rested her head on Kagura's shoulder.

Kagura blushed a bit and smiled as she felt Osaka's head. A warm sense of joy overcame her. She felt strong knowing that she had the power to transport her friend. She enjoyed knowing that Osaka trusted her with her safety and relied on her make to make sure they arrived at the mysterious destination faster. It was something she hadn't experienced before.

"I wonder if this is why Sakaki, is always looking out for Chiyo." Kagura thought.

Her speed slowly increased. She didn't want to start off running fast in fear of tripping. The Next thing Osaka knew she was moving at a much faster pace then she could ever run. The ride wasn't extremely smooth, but for being on the back of someone it was smooth enough. She could here Kagura breathing at a timed pace to keep herself moving efficiently. The breeze that hit her in the face felt refreshing. She also felt a slight breeze behind her which didn't feel quiet right. She took her head off Kagura's shoulder and carefully looked behind.

"Kagura, slow down!" She pleaded.

"What's the matter?" Kagura asked.

"My skirt's blowin' around."

"Don't worry 'bout it. No one will see anything."

"But…"

"You're wearing underwear, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then no need to worry."

"Um…Ah, I got an idea! Lemme down for a sec."

With that said, Kagura let her down. Osaka took her bag and opened it up, then pulled out a roll of tape. She tore off a few pieces and taped her skirt to her legs. After that Kagura picked Osaka back up and they continued on their way without worry of the mischievous breezes.


	17. Mission Aborted

Chapter 16: Mission Aborted

"It's was really nice of you to stop by." Kaori said gazing at the her tall crush, Sakaki

"No problem. I just wanted to see how you doing." Sakaki responded slightly robotic without looking back at Kaori.

She had arrived at Kaori's house and asked her to go for a walk with her. Just as she had expected, Kaori didn't decline. Sakaki wanted to talk to her in private and the streets around her house seemed emptier than her house. Kaori's mother was home from work to care for her even though she insisted that the injury wasn't severe.

"I'm fine. It's nothing more than a bruise and a cut, but it stills hurts some."

Sakaki took a glance at Kaori. Upon observing her injuries an empty feeling tingled in her chest. Kaori shouldn't have a swollen purple bruise on her cheek or a large bandage wrapped over her nose. It wasn't right for her to have those injuries. She didn't deserve them. She had done nothing to deserve such a punishment.

"I'm Sorry." Sakaki suddenly apologized.

Kaori replied confused, "For what?"

"For not being able to protect you."

"Ah, don't be sorry it wasn't your fault. Nobody expected Chihiro to charge at Tomo like that."

"I see." Sakaki said drifting off from the conversation.

Even with a large bruise and bandage covering her face Kaori still had a cute sense about it her. Sakaki could see it very clear and regretted that she could not defend her today, but Kaori was right. Sakaki could not have made it in time to stop Chihiro from punching anyone.

"So…how are you and Tomo doing?" Sakaki asked after a momentary silence.

"Oh, us? We're…we're doing good, but…" Kaori trailed off.

Sakaki looked at the beaten girl. When she asked that question Kaori seemed a little out of sorts.

"But what?" Sakaki urged her to finish.

"I'm not…I…nothing."

"Nothing? I know you have something to say."

Kaori did have something to say, but she wasn't sure if she should say it. Sakaki was still looking at her expecting her to finish her previous statement. She now regretted adding "but" to her sentence. Though, a part of her wanted to tell someone, otherwise she wouldn't have even considered adding that to the end of her sentence.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I can't say no to you."

Sakaki smiled nervously at that statement, it made her remember what Tomo said about Kaori's crush on her.

"It's just that I don't know about Tomo." Kaori continued speaking.

"You don't know what about her?"

"I don't know if she is who I should be with."

"Ah." Sakaki didn't know what else to say to that.

"She is really nice and it's fun being with her, but I don't feel the way I should when I'm around her. Truthfully, I never had any interest in anybody in the school-"

"Wait! You had no interest in anybody in the school?" Sakaki quickly interrupted, her voice carried some hope in it.

"Um…that's a bit of an exaggeration. I do have a thing for one girl, but let's not worry about that."

Sakaki's hope faded. She didn't want Kaori to have a crush on her. It would only break her heart in the end.

"Well, anyway, when Tomo asked me out of a date. I felt…um...like, um… I can't think of a word for it. I felt like I was not alone, but at the same time I thought that she may be the only chance I will ever get. How many other girls in the school are like me or Tomo, right?"

"What about Kagura and Osaka?" Sakaki suggested.

"I thought they were joking. Are they for real?"

"Um…I dunno." Sakaki didn't want to answer; she figured that Kagura and Osaka would rather she not known.

"Oh, well, if they aren't joking I wish the best for them. It's always nice when things like that work out."

"Yeah it is. Hmm, speaking of that, are you going to break it off with Tomo?"

Kaori stopped walking, "I'm not sure, actually. I don't mind dating her, it is nice to have someone to talk to and do things with, but I'm just worried that if I keep it up she will get too attached and I might hurt her. I didn't even have a clue that she showed any interest in me. I guess she needed to be assured about me before she went to ask me out."

"You mean she needed to know you liked girls?" Sakaki asked.

"Yeah."

"How did she figure that out, though?"

"Hehehe," Kaori giggled nervously, "I don't have a clue."

"Oh."

Sakaki didn't want to say "oh", she wanted to tell Kaori she knew that Tomo found about her through the diary, but she got nervous at the last second. She continued walking and Kaori followed. Sakaki wanted to talk to Kaori about everything, but she was afraid. She then thought about what Kaori had said about Tomo. If she let her feelings go any further she may build up her hopes and get crushed even more in the end. Also, if she told Kaori about Tomo, then she wouldn't feel guilty about breaking up with her. She saw much more positive effects from telling her than not telling. Listening to her logic she went to blurt out her knowledge, but was stopped by Kaori.

"Don't move!" She warned Sakaki.

"Huh?"

"There is a spider on you."

"A sp-spider!?" Sakaki yelled in terror.

"I'll knock it off."

Kaori swatted at Sakaki's arm where the spider was. It fell to the ground. And Sakaki ran off.

"Is it gone?"

"Yeah, it fled."

Sakaki ran back, "I thought I knocked that thing off earlier. I walked through its web by accident."

"Ah." Kaori said, giving her a strange look.

Why did she run away?" Kaori question herself, "It was a tiny little speck! Maybe she's allergic to spider bites. That has to be it."

"Was it poisonous?"

"I bet not, but giant spiders like that frighten me."

"Well, it's better to run away. Better safe than sorry, right?" Kaori questioned with a slight bit of disappointment.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sakaki replied.

The two continued walking. Kaori was silently indulging herself by inching closer to Sakaki. More aware of how Kaori felt about her, Sakaki noticed Kaori's move. She didn't want to move away, but she knew that she couldn't lead Kaori on any longer.

"Tomo told me something today." Sakaki said trying to lead herself to tell Kaori about her knowledge.

"She did?"

"Uh-huh, I think it was something about you."

Kaori become nervous, "W-what did she tell you?"

"She said that you…"

Kaori placed her hand on her chest. Kaori panicked in her mind, though, tried to keep a calm appearance "No! Tomo didn't tell her about my diary! Even if she thought the entries were about her, Sakaki surely would know better."

"Yeah?" Kaori said trying to speed Sakaki up.

"You…um...you have a crush on somebody."

Kaori clenched her fist tightly. Her nails were digging into her skin. She believed that her palm was bleeding, but it wasn't. The hand on her chest moved rapidly up in down as her breathing increased. Sakaki noticed how Kaori was begging to react and felt bad that she was putting the poor girl under so much stress.

"She didn't say who, though." Sakaki lied to make her calm down.

She could see Kaori begin to mellow out.

"Oh." Kaori gasped.

"She did say that the only reason she was because you seemed lonely."

"What?!" Kaori shouted as she came to a stop, "She was doing it out of pity?"

Sakaki realized how poorly she phrased her sentence, "No, no, no. It wasn't pity. It was more like she wanted you to be happy. She told us-"

"Us? Who's us?" Kaori said in distress.

"Me! I meant me!" Sakaki was beginning to regret even mention what Tomo said, "She said that she dated you because she wanted you to be happy and she also wanted to prepare you for your relationship with your crush."

"Huh? Seriously?" Kaori asked in disbelief.

Sakaki could relate with her disbelief, "I know it sounds weird, but that seems to be the kind of thing Tomo does."

"I'm gonna break up with her." Kaori responded.

"So suddenly?"

"Yeah, it sounds to me like she was just messing with me. I shouldn't waste my time with her. I need to focus more on my crush."

Sakaki quickly tried to defend Tomo, "No, she wasn't messing with you. I care about you. Remember she was the one who took you to the clinic. Also, she said she did it because she didn't like to see you sad."

"Really?" Kaori asked looking up at Sakaki.

Sakaki nodded tensely.

"I believe you. She was a lot of fun to be with and I don't think she would devote so much time to messing with me, but that doesn't change the fact that I am breaking up with her."

"Still?"

"Yeah, I was only staying with her because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but now that I know it won't hurt her I can do it."

"Whatever makes you happy I guess."

Kaori inched closer to Sakaki, "Hey, Sakaki, guess what."

"What?"

"I'm single again."

"Hehe, yup." Sakaki tried to smile.

She couldn't tell Kaori the complete truth. She didn't know how to say it without hurting her. Though, for now Sakaki felt a little better by telling Kaori about Tomo's plan. She was slightly surprised by how easy it was for her to accept it.

Kagura slowed to a stop in front of a house, "Is this it?"

"Yup." Osaka answered.

"So whose house is this?"

"You'll see."

Kagura knelt down to le Osaka off of her back.

"Thanks for the ride, Kagura."

"My pleasure."

Osaka ran up to the door. Kagura followed happily behind her.

"Knock, Knock." Osaka shouted happily as she gently pounded the door.

Kagura had a smile on her face the whole time. She was anxious to see who would answer the door. Osaka had her arms crossed. A few seconds went by then they heard some movement. Someone was approaching the door. Then it opened.

"Hi!" Osaka shouted.

"Yomi?!" Kagura shocked.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Yomi greeted.

"We just wanted ta visit ya." Osaka replied.

"Come in." Yomi motioned for them to enter.

Kagura entered the house along with Osaka.

"Is anyone besides ya home?" Osaka asked.

Yomi turned around, "Nope, I'm the only one here for now."

"So Yomi," Kagura said casually, "You have any Missions for us?"

"What?"

Osaka slapped her hand over Kagura's mouth and shook her head side to side. Kagura nodded her head understanding that she should keep quiet about their mission.

"I mean like homework or something." Kagura quickly thought of an excuse for her previous question.

"I think I'm fine doing my own homework, thanks." Yomi responded.

"Hahaha." Kagura laughed in relief that Yomi didn't take up the offer

Yomi escorted the two girls to the television room. They sat down on a soft sofa with light blue cushions and two pillows. Yomi offered them a beverage. Kagura jumped at the offer, but Osaka motioned for her to decline and she did so. Yomi was a little bewildered by the odd behavior of the two, but ignored it as she had seen the do some more unusual things. Yomi joined them both sitting in a chair that faced them for easy conversation.

"So, what's up with you two? How long have you had you eye on each other?" Yomi interrogated.

"Oh, ever since we met."

"Really?!"

"Oh, yeah, I have always loved her." Osaka added gleefully.

"It's nice that you two made your relationship public. Even I was shocked when you did. I never had clue that you two had a thing for each other. I never even knew Osaka was interested in other girls. Kagura, though, well, it didn't seem like such stretch."

Kagura slumped over and blushed at Yomi's statement and Osaka giggled.

"So," Osaka began, "Speakin' of relationships, I notice that they're all a mess."

"Huh, what are you talking about Osaka." Yomi questioned.

Kagura become excited on the inside she could sense that Osaka was about to begin the mission. She didn't know what it was yet, but the sudden change in atmosphere that Osaka made with her statement was too obvious. Yomi was across in the chair with an odd look on her face, she too knew that something was up.

"Well, ya would a good example. Didn't ya just have a fight with Tomo at lunch today?"

Yomi began to feel awkward, "Oh, that. That was just a small disagreement."

"I guess it was, but you seemed really mad at Tomo. Did she do something to upset you?"

Yomi was silent hoping Osaka would stop asking such intruding questions. Kagura was also silent. She couldn't think of anything to say since she was still unclear of what Osaka was getting at.

"I'm sure your crush on Tomo has nothing ta do with it."

Yomi calmly replied to Osaka, "I don't have a crush on her."

"Then why did ya cry when Tomo kissed Kaorin?"

"That's none of your business!" Yomi shouted angrily.

Kagura was tensed up with her fists placed nervously in her lap. She felt like she was watching a movie the way Osaka was question Yomi. She didn't still didn't know what Osaka wanted, but she figured that she was trying to get Yomi to admit she liked Tomo. She wanted to help, but couldn't think of anything to say. Though, a question that had been stuck in her brain all day surfaced again. She never got a clear response for why Tomo called her kiss the "correct answer".

"What did you and Tomo do last Friday?!" Kagura shouted as she pointed at Yomi.

Osaka fell back surprised that Kagura said anything at all.

"Why did you guys come here to ask me these questions?" Yomi asked angrily.

"I dunno." Kagura responded, she looked at Osaka, "It was Ayumu's idea."

Yomi turned to Osaka, "Your idea?!"

Yomi hopped of her chair and leaned down in Osaka's face. Osaka retreated into the couch.

"What do you want, Ayumu?" Yomi hissed.

Osaka smiled uncomfortably, "I was just tryin' ta help."

"Help? Help who?"

"I wanted to help ya."

Yomi backed down, "Ok, I'll give you a chance to explain."

She sat down in her chair still angered, but willing to hear what Osaka had to say. Osaka sat up straight and began explaining.

"I have been watchin' ya and everyone else for a while and I noticed that everything has been gettin' all messed up. I wanted ta make everything good again. Before Tomo started datin' Kaorin everyone seemed happy, but ever since then I noticed Chihiro getting really sad and ya, too. Then I saw Chihiro and Kaori fightin' last Friday. After what happened today I just couldn't stand it anymore. So I decided ta come here and tell ya what I knew."

"How would that help?." Yomi asked.

"I though I could help ya hook up with Tomo, then I could help everyone else."

"You're really convinced I like Tomo aren't you."

"Not convinced. I know you do."

"How do you know for sure?"

"I'm really good at reading emotions. I figured out by how Kaorin acted that she liked Sakaki. Today it was confirmed."

Yomi sighed. Kagura sat still once again with her hands in her lap.

"Do you really like Tomo, Yomi?" she questioned.

Yomi ignored the question by asking another, "What else do you know."

"I know that Chihiro likes Kaorin. That's why she went to punch Tomo today. She's jealous of her, the same way that she is jealous of Sakaki, but she doesn't want to admit her feelings."

"Oh," Yomi said, "What if you're wrong?"

"I don't think I'm wrong. From everything I have seen I shouldn't be."

"Well, Osaka, Ayumu… whatever, you are wrong. I don't like Tomo. I don't have a crush on her. Even if I did it isn't your business."

Osaka's face turned to shock.

Yomi continued speaking with a stinging voice. "You should also stop meddling in my and other people's affairs. It will just make everything worse, but for now I think you two should leave."

"I-I understand." Osaka said sadly.

Kagura stood up from the couch. Osaka slowly rose up, her head was tilted toward the ground. She was convinced she was right, but was blown to the ground by Yomi. Kagura grabbed Osaka by the hand and walked her to the door. Yomi had already opened it and was standing there waiting for the two to exit. Kagura gave Yomi a nasty look on the way out.

When Kagura and Osaka where outside, Yomi angrily shut the door behind them. Kagura patted Osaka on the back.

"Don't worry, Ayumu, I'm sure Yomi didn't mean it. She was probably just angry from earlier today."

Kagura's comforting words eased her pain, but she still felt depressed, "I thought I was helpin', Kagura, but I guess I was wrong. I don't wanna make everything worse."

"You're not making anything worse."

"Thanks for the support, Kagura, but I think I'm gonna go home. You should, too. See ya tomorrow."

Osaka slowly walked away with her school bag in hand. Kagura wasn't sure if she should walk her home or not. She hadn't seen her spirits crushed like that before, it was weird and unsettling. She had an urge to make her feel better and return to her usually determined self.

"Ayumu, wait."

"Yeah?"

"Want me to walk you home? I'll let you ride on my back."

Osaka shook her head, "I need some time alone."

With that said Osaka continued walking. Kagura watched her slowly leave. She didn't want to see her leave in such a depressed state, but she wasn't sure on how to act on the situation. Kagura stood in front of Yomi's house and watched her walk away.


	18. Another Day's End

Heee, I finished my final class for the summer. Now I have free time for about a month. I will try to catch up on a few of my stories!

Chapter 18: Another Day's End

Osaka was sitting at her desk with homework laid out before her. It was half finished and crumpled. Stray pencil marks were on the papers and the handwriting was quick and sloppy. A small lamp on her desk dimly lit the area with a pale yellowish glow not very suitable for schoolwork, but she wasn't concentrating on her incomplete homework any longer. She was now focused on the little notebook she kept full of observations. Although, a straining guilt pulled on her stomach for ignoring her schoolwork, even after she made a promise to herself to improve, she was too determined to find her fault. Over and over she read the observations she made trying to see how could not be correct. It seemed obvious to her that Yomi had feelings for Tomo that stretched beyond friendship, but after Yomi told her earlier that she was wrong she didn't know what to think.

"How?" She whispered, "How could I be wrong? I was so sure Yomi was upset because of Tomo's Kiss. I even saw her cry! Ya don't cry like that if your friend kisses someone…not with a face so full of pain like that."

Her notes read of various instances she could remember. One that she heavily noted was when Yomi asked her and Chiyo to spy on Tomo's first date with Kaori. Although, she saw that as a major sign, she thought that Yomi's tears said much more. She had seen tears like that before and they were not anything ordinary. They were the direct product of heartache. She knew what they looked like, she knew what the smelled like, she even knew what they tasted like. They were something that she could never mistake. After all, she washed them away from her eyes every night.

She quickly skimmed through her observations once more. When she reached the end of her notes she violently gripped all the pages with words at the top and yanked her arm down in one quick jerk. All the pages were there in her hands. She looked at the pages in hand adorned with jagged edges.

"They're all wrong." She sighed.

Then she gently and slowly tore the grouped of pages in half. Again she did it, and again until smalls shreds of paper were in her hands. The garbage pale next to her desk was the rightful for place for her assumptions. She stood up and sprinkled them in, then walked over to her bed and sat down.

"I was all wrong. Nobody was meant ta be a happy couple and everythin' was destined ta fall apart. My wishful thinkin' is what made me see the love that never existed between Yomi and Tomo, Kaori and Chihiro, too. If I don't even know what love looks like between two people then I can never find it for myself."

As every night came so did her misery. It was a heavy inescapable pain that lived in her heart, a wretched doubt that stabbed her until she broke out in tears. She at the very moment could feel the tears breaking loose. She never fought against them, she didn't see a point. She just made sure that no one heard. Her pillow was the perfect place to retreat. It muffled any cries and absorbed her pain very well.

She quickly grabbed her pillow from her bed and brought it to her face. Immediately, it began doing its duty as it had done nightly. Her occasionally moans were silenced and her tears disappeared into the cloth. Her pillow had grown thin over the many nights it was used. It lost its airiness and became flat and uncomfortable to sleep on, but it could still provide emotional comfort.

After a few minutes of weeping in her pillow, her tears began to slow and her cries faded. She pulled her head out of the pillow. It had water spots on it. She laid it back at the top of her bed with the wet side down. She lifted her legs up and stretched the out and put her head on her pillow and faced upwards. Her red swollen eyes stared at the ceiling. She didn't want to do anything. She was not in the mood. Instead she tried remembering. She wanted to try and remember the first night she cried. It was just last year, in her freshman year. She recalled the very incident that began it all.

Osaka raised her arm up and let it rest on her forehead. Her arm felt cool, "I want love." She whispered to herself.

Suddenly, the gloomy silence in her room was interrupted by a cheerful tune. Her cell phone was ringing on her desk. She watched it light up and vibrate around the desk singing its song. It shook it itself off the desk onto the floor. After a few seconds of watching it she lifted herself up of her bed and reached down to answer it.

"Hello?" The voice spoke.

"Hello?" Osaka responded.

"Ah, there you are Ayumu!" It was Kagura.

"Hi, Kagura." Osaka mumbled.

"I just wanted to check on you. To see how you were doing. You seemed sad when you left and you don't sound very happy right now."

"I-I'm fine, I just woke up, that's all." Osaka excused herself.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just felt that it was my duty as your, hehe, girlfriend, to see if you are in good spirits." Kagura couldn't help, but snicker as she spoke the word girlfriend.

"Nah, I'm fine, nothin' can get ta me. I'm Osaka…I mean Ayumu Kasuga, right?"

"Haha, that's good, I knew what Yomi said wouldn't bring you down."

Osaka went silent. Kagura waited a bit for her response.

"Are you there?" She asked.

"I'm still here."

"Ok, well, you should probably go back to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow, but, uh, before I go, I want you to know that I think your right. Yomi has the hots for Tomo, but she is just hiding it. I mean, what does she know? She thinks we're actually dating!"

"Yeah," Osaka tried to laugh, "well…I'm gonna go back ta sleep. See ya tomorrow."

Kagura and Osaka ended their conversation. She felt a little lifted by Kagura's belief that she was correct, but she still was certain that Yomi was right. She didn't want to believe that Yomi was lying. She didn't want to think that her friend would intentionally hurt her. Especially, how angrily she made her point. She had to be telling the truth.

Just as Osaka was thinking about how right Yomi was, Yomi was thinking about how wrong she acted towards Osaka. Yomi's head was in the fridge hunting for a snack to eat.

"I can't believe I said that to her." Yomi thought, "She was right about me. I just lied to her and crushed her. I should probably call her and apologize, but…she wasn't in the right either. She was getting too personal. It's better if just keep my hand out of it and let the situation solve itself."

Yomi felt satisfied with her choice. She felt it would be much smoother without her interference. From her experience over the past few days she was even more certain that staying out of situations would be the wise thing to do. Tomo was always causing trouble because she just couldn't tend to let other people's lives pass without her being involved in them. Yomi didn't want to be like that. She tried once to be as spontaneous as her friend and it just made everything worse than it already was.

"Ah!" Yomi said as she noticed a lone cup of chocolate pudding.

She grabbed it and tore the top off of it. Now that it was open she had no choice but to eat it. She usually didn't like to think about food that way, but she knew if she didn't rip the top of before she looked at the nutrition label she would not have opened it at all. Yomi opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a spoon. Immediately she plunged it into the pudding and took out a scoop.

"Haha, I have no choice. I have to eat it all because I opened it. I can't throw it away either because I would be wasting my mom's money."

"Dear!" A voice yelled from the television room, "Did you call me?"

"Uh, no, mom, you must have misheard." Yomi shouted back.

"Yikes, that could have been embarrassing. Why did I say that aloud?" Yomi questioned herself.

Yomi lifted the spoonful of pudding to her mouth, shakily. She was begging to regret opening the pudding. It would just set her back in her goal and lately she had not been keeping up with her exercise routine. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Yomi set down the pudding on the counter.

"I'll get it!" Her mother shouted.

Yomi intended to answer the door, but her mother was just to fast. She could here the door open and her mother say, "Oh you must be Yomi's friend!"

"My friend? I wonder who it is."

"It's Tomo right?" She heard her mother continue.

"Tomo's here?! Why?! I don't want to see her." Yomi thought.

"Actually, Ma'am, its Chihiro." The guest corrected.

"Oh, what a relief! I don't know if I could handle that girl's antics tonight. Come on in, Chihiro." Yomi's mother let Chihiro in, "She's in the kitchen."

Chihiro walked in the kitchen and saw Yomi holding a cup of pudding.

"Hi, Chihiro!" Yomi greeted, "Do you want pudding?"

"Um, thanks, Yomi." Chihiro accepted the cup.

"So what's going on, Chihiro?" Yomi asked.

Chihiro walked up to Yomi and whispered to her, "Do you think we find a more private place to talk."

"Oh, sure let's go to my room." Yomi motioned for Chihiro to follow.

Chihiro followed Yomi to her room and took bites of the pudding along the way. When she entered Yomi's room she went for another scoop, but nothing come up on the spoon.

"Oops." Chihiro said.

"What?" Yomi turned around.

"Oh, I just ate it all. I guess I was hungry. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast."

"You haven't been home?"

"Uh, no." Chihiro blushed, "I have just been wondering the streets since the afternoon."

"Hold on for a sec, Chihiro." Yomi walked to the door and shut it, "Ok, so what did you want to talk about."

The small girl suddenly went silent. She was still standing in the middle of Yomi's room holding the pudding cup in one hand and the spoon in another.

"Here, let me take those for you." Yomi offered. She gently grabbed the two items and placed them on her desk.

"Thanks."

"No, problem, now, why don't you sit down." Yomi directed Chihiro to her bed and sat her down. Yomi sat beside her.

"Ok, comfortable?"

Chihiro nodded without looking up.

"So, what's bugging you?"

"A lot of stuff."

"Yeah, well, there has been a lot happening lately."

"Yeah, there has."

Yomi was beginning to feel uneasy around Chihiro. She knew something was wrong; but didn't know what was wrong and didn't want to take guesses at what it was. Chihiro had to tell her the problem otherwise she couldn't help.

"I know there is more to it than what you're telling me."

"There is." Answered the troubled girl, still facing the ground.

Yomi placed her hand on Chihiro's shoulder.

"Yomi, I'm scared."

"Scared? Of what?"

"When I punched Kaori today, I was aiming for Tomo as you probably knew."

"Yeah, I did."

"I'm not sure, but I think that…I was trying to punch her for other reasons."

"Other reasons? I don't really follow."

"Well, I am very angry at Tomo right know because she took my best friend away from me, but I think I punched Tomo for a reason besides that.

Yomi didn't answer. She wasn't sure what to say.

"I think, but I'm not sure, that I wanted to punch Tomo because…" Chihiro trailed off.

"It's ok, Chihiro." Yomi comforted her, "If you're not ready to tell me I'm always-"

"I was jealous that she kissed Kaori first." She suddenly blurted out, interrupting Yomi."


	19. Cleaning the Mess

Heheheheheheheheeeeeeeeeee...Now I just feel plain bad. Has it been...over a year? I don't know myself, but I am going to finish this story even if it kills me. I hope there are no harsh feelings. I tried my best to recall everything that has happened so far, I hope I don't make any mistakes. If I do please tell me.Anyway, enjoy!

Note: I redid the ending just a bit, I thought it was too confusing.

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Chapter 19: Cleaning the mess

"I don't want my friends to hate each other." Chiyo stated with the a worried concern.

Kagura frowned, she dreaded to see such a cute being look so helpless and sad. Even though Chiyo was the most intelligent girl she knew, she was still a child and had such extreme worries about her friends, "They don't hate each other, Chiyo. They are just going through a tough time."

Chiyo looked up at her comforter, still with a worried face. Kagura smiled awkwardly back at her. The little girl seemed to find the strained smile a bit amusing and returned with a sincere look of happiness. Releif overcame Kagura as she avoid a potential situation. She was not good at comforting people, especially children, like Sakaki seemed to be.

Chiyo took a hearty lick of the ice cream cone that Kagura had purchased her. Osaka glared at the ice cream placed neatly upon the cone. She carefully watched the small child's tounge run over the smooth ice cream and could nto help but glaze her own tounge across her lips.

Chiyo sensed that she was being watched and felt a bit awkward. She took smaller and smaller licks each time. She did nto knwo why, but she felt odd having someone stare so intently as she ate her frozen desert.

Kagura watched her eyeing Chiyo and smiled as she found it oddly entertaining. Yet, she could nto help but ask why Osaka was so hypnotized, "Why are you watching her, Ayumu?"

"It is colored so weird." Osaka answered without turning her attention away from teh cone.

The ice cream was an odd shade of white. It was not as bright as the classic vanilla, but it was not dark enough to be considered anything darker than a white. The slightest tint of tan was part of it's make-up.

"What flavor is that?" Kagura wondered as her interest suddenly was sparked.

"I don't know." Chiyo responded, "The guy asked if I wanted to try the flavor of the and I figured it would fun."

"Chiyo-chan, d'ya mind if I take a lil' lick?" Osaka finally asked eyeing the icy treat.

Chiyo cracked a small smile and reached the cone over to her friend, "Sure."

Osaka stuck her tounge out for a taste test of the unusually colored cone. She hoped that she could possibly shine some light on the mysterious flavor. Her first guess was almond, but she did not get to reassure any thoughts concerning the flavor as misfortune struck. She placed a bit too much force on the end of her tounge and the ice cream itself toppled off the cone. It splattered square onto her shoe.

Chiyo signified she was upset with a soft gasp, "Oh..."

Osaka took it much harder than Chiyo did, "I'm a failure..."

She looked down sadly at her shoe. The ice cream was oozing down the sides adn even through he material. She could feel her toes cooling. The depressing tone of her voice, along with her hair fallen down by the sides of her face, made for a depressing site..

"No! Osaka, you're not a failure!" Chiyo desperatly reassured her. She feared that any minute Osaka would start up her tears. Kagura had told her earlier that she may be a bit fragile due to certain events.

"This isn't working at all." Kagura moaned to herself. Quickly she tried to think of a way to break the mood. It came to her, but it would not work unless she abandoned her native language for the second, "Piggy-back!" She shouted in english with an almost demanding tone.

"Huh?" Chiyo looked at her baffled by her sudden choice of words.

"Piggy-back!" Once again, Kagura shouted. Fellow pedestrians turned their heads. She knew she was making a small scene, but she had more important things to worry about. Then she began to chant the words.

It did not take long for Osaka to ignore her littl accident and join in, "Oh, piggy-back!"

Little Chiyo was silent trying to figure out why they had suddenly begun repeating "piggy-back" with no provocation. She did not even dare to join in as felt embarrassed enough being seen with the two fools. Slowly, she inched herself away from her friends.

Kagura was well aware that she was making an idiotic spectacle of herself. As tanned as her face was it wsa overcame by a darker red. She decided that she had done enough and decided to quiet herself down. Once she did so, the on-lookers began to mind their own business and move on. Osaka also calmed herself down. Then Kagura smirk and asked Osaka a question, "How about you ride on my back?"

"Sure." She replied entusiastically, forgetting that she was responible for the destruction of Chiyo's ice cream.

For that day, Kagura made it her goal to keep her "girlfriend" happy. It was just abut an hour earlier that she and Chiyo showed up at Osaka's door. After, much convincing and a little bit of force they sucessfully removed Osaka from her house. Kagura did not want her to stay shut away with all of her recent negativity. She seemed to still be very upset about Yomi's scolds. Kagura could not figure out why, but she was dedicated to helping her over come the small depression she had fallen into.

"I'm glad I wore pants today." Osaka joked referring to the first ride she had received from her friend.

Kagura had a good feeling that the rest of the day may go as she hoped, "I'm glad, too."

Upon mouting Kagura's back, both the girls realized they hadforgotten one very important detail. It was too late to mention it, though. The disgusted sound Kagura made was proof of that..

"Don't worry about it." Kagura smiled. She didn't find it important to that ice cream was running off of Osaka's shoe onto her thigh.

Elsewhere on the streets, Sakaki was wondering about. She was in heavy thought, organizing all of the information she had received over the past days. It was a good chunk to handle, but it was crucial that she try to figure out everything. She was certain that Tomo was not going to sort the situation she had created out. It wasn't in her personality to take responsibility for her impulsive actions. It was one of the few things that she hated about her.

Sakaki sighed as she thought about Kaori. She disliked focusing on that girl, mostly becasue she knew that it was inevitable that the kind girl would be damaged in the end. Sakaki had no choice but to agree with Yomi that the current and incoming pain to everyone involved in teh situation was Tomo's fault. Despite the beneevolent intentions of the rambuctious girl, she had no clue what she was really doing.

The current situation looked dire. Friends fighting friends, large misunderstandings and physical and emotional injury. None of it would turn out good if left in the hands of Tomo, she had gotten sucked into her own mess. Sakaki knew that it was up to her to begin cleaning up the mess. With just the information that she held she could put a start to the end of everything Tomo had screwed up

With a nod, Sakaki knew that she immediatly had to approach her little lover, Kaori, and tell her everything she knew. It was the first step in cleaning up Tomo's social mixup. At that moment, Sakaki stopped walking at her current pace and dashed. She ran swiftly and gracefully in the direction of Kaori's house. The faster she told the truth the easier everything would be to fix.

It wasn't but minutes later that Sakaki arrived at her destination. She ran to the door and quickly knocked three times. Anxiously, she waited for an answer. It wasn't but even a full minute later that the sounds of an unlocking door were heard. Sakaki prepared to meet the person on the other side.

Kaori's mother had opened the door and stood there in an apron and a very appetizing smell exited through the open door. With a very sweet tone the woman spoke, "Oh, hello there. How can I help you?"

Sakaki was intrigued. She had never seen Kaori's mother before. The resemblance was breath-taking. She felt like she was facing an older version of Kaori. They shared the same haircut and face. Just about the only difference was age and the fact that Kaori was a bit slimmer than her mother.

"Um...I'm here to see Kaori. You can tell her that it is Sakaki."

"Sakaki, did you say?" The lady asked with a now suspicious tone.

Sakaki nodded.

The lady gave an unusual look to to the tall visitor and then asked a very strange question, "Sakaki is also a boy's name correct?"

"Uh, I, yes. It is also a boy's name." She answered a bit befuddled.

Suddenly, the lady started smiling again and wen tback to her original welcoming tone, "I'm sorry about that. I was just a bit weirded out. It turns out you have the same name as a boy that my dear Kaori has a crush on."

Upon hearing the words from Kaori's mother Sakaki wanted to faint. She had no idea that Kaori was so open at home about her crushes. Especially, female crushes that she pulled off to be the gender that they were not. With a very stiff smile she entered the house upon the woman's invitation.

"I apologize, but I am a bit busy cooking right now, but Kaori's is the one at the end of the hall upstairs. She usually keeps her door closed so just knock."

Sakaki took the directions given and approached the the door. It was closed as she was told, "Knock knock?" Sakaki said to give a warning that she was about to knock. She felt a littl bad about disturbing Kaori unexpectedly.

Immediatly, the door flew open, "Sakaki!"

Kaori seemed to be in a good mood. Sakaki waved, "Hi."

"Come on in." She pulled Sakaki into her room and shut the door behind her, "You didn't tell my mom your name did you?"

Sakaki blushed, she did not expect that to be the first thing Kaori said, but she answered anyway, "I did." She looked away.

"Uh..." Kaori seemed to be upset.

Sakaki, tried to glaze the situation with a bit of reassurance, "I was surprised. Your mom said you have a crush on some lucky GUY with the same name as me."

Kaori seemed to jumped back to her normal self instantaniously, "Uh, yeah, isn't that something?"

Sakaki wanted to kick herself, she didn't see how avoiding the truth would help the situation at all, but being in the same room with Kaori began to make her nervous. She thought it would be so easy to tell her. All of her enthusiasmn seemed to die in that instant.

Kaori mentioned that Sakaki could sit on her bed. She did so and her friend joined her. Though, she sat a bit closer than the average friend would. Sakaki could feel her thigh rubbing against her the denim of her jeans. There was warmth. radiating from her leg.

Even though, the girl was sitting so near Sakaki, she still had her hand squeezed together nerviously in her lap. It seemed that Kaori was trying to make a move, but was not yet comfortable enough to fo any further. Sakaki wondered, with a bit of fear, if Kaori was only holding back until she got used to her being in her room or if she was still too shy of a girl to do anything else. Sakaki hoped for the ladder.

"So..." Kaori said with an attempt to spark a conversation, "What's up?"

"I...dunno." Sakaki responed.

"Oh, well, I havn't broken up with Tomo yet...but I need some advice. Maybe you can help?"

Kaori received a nod.

"Ok, well. I don't want to be with Tomo anymore as I told you, but I thought about it and I am afraid."

"Afraid? I don't think Tomo will be really hurt."

"Actually, It isn't that. I am afraid of being lonely. If I break it off with her, then I won't have a girlfriend and I really like having a girlfriend. I think that the title has more meaning than people give it. If I don't have the title with Tomo she will treat me more like a friend."

"Doesn't she already treat you more like a friend, though?" Sakaki asked wondering what Kaori was exactly talking about.

"Kind of, but when she kissed me...friends don't do that, girlfriends and boyfriends do that. Even though I am not all that into her, I, uh, still kinda liked that kiss..." Kaori's face quickly reddened as told Sakaki her more intimate thoughts.

"Ooh..." Sakaki did not know how to respond, but luckily the girl continued to speak.

"Anyway, I thought that I should not break it off with Tomo until I am assured that the girl I like also likes me back. What do you think?" She asked looking at Sakaki, it seemed she was expecting something.

Sakaki could see that what her friend was doing. She was trying to get her to admit something. Perhaps, an idea of of her orientation, or perhaps a total confession of love. She tried to dodge the questions strategically, "Wouldn't that be like cheating?"

Kaori's began to sounds as if she was now trying to convince Sakaki, "No, it is only cheating if I don't break it off with Tomo. I would be sure to do that as soon as you..." She paused, and corrected herself, "As the other girl says yes to me. Hehehe, I dunno where that came from."

"Oh, what if the other is not into girls like you are?" Sakaki asked.

''I don't know what I would do then." Kaori tilted her head away,

"I think it is best that you expec-"

Sakaki was suddenly interupted forcefully. She did not know how, or even see how it happened, but Kaori was only inches away from her face with her eyes closed softly. She could feel the moist warm sensation of lips pressed against hers. Sakaki ignored her first reaction to retreat too afriad that an even more awkward situation would arise if she did so.

Gently, Kaori pulled away. Sakaki placed her hand over her mouth. It was almost as if she could feel the kiss on her hand as well as her lips. Kaori looked down at the floor guiltily, "I'm sorry."

Sakaki was still silent, unmoving and uncomfortable.

"I could tell you knew about me after I asked you if my mother asked for your name. You can't make me believe that you think I would be interested in a guy. You and I both know what my prefences are or di dyou forget " Kaori weakly smiled, her eyes looked sad, "I continued to ask you questions hoping to get answer out of you and I..." Kaori sniffled a bit, " I guess I got one. You would never be able to like me in that way." Gradually, tears formed at Kaori's eyes, "I'm sorry, Sakaki, I needed to know how it would feel."

"I...I..." Sakaki tried to say something in response. She saw that Kaori's eyes were watering. She didn't know if it was possible to say anything that would make it better, so she only said the one thing she could think of, "I'm sorry."


	20. Falling Into Place

Yes, this chapter is extremely short. Cheesy perhaps, too? Also, I apologize if I make any inaccuracies, just tell me what they are if there are any.

Chapter 20: Falling Into Place

"You're not angry at me?" Kaori asked shocked.

Sakaki shook her head calmly, "I was just didn't expect you to do that."

Kaori perked her up a bit, "Ok, I'm glad."

Sakaki was licking her lips. She had not been kissed before and she could swear she could still feel the sensation of Kaori's lips pressed on her, "Were you wearing lip balm?"

Kaori smiled guiltily, "Yes."

"I can feel it." Sakaki chuckled, she licked her lips again.

Kaori smiled and scooted away from Sakaki on the bed. She wanted to give her a bit of room after invading her personal space for her own pleasure.

"Kaorin, I still feel very bad. I didn't know that you..." Sakaki went silent without finishing her sentence. She was not sure if she should have brought anything up so soon.

"No," Kaori began, "don't feel bad. There is nothing you or I can do to change how you feel. It just wasn't meant to be. Also, that kiss...it-it gave me a lot."

Sakaki wasn't sure what she meant, "Uh..."

Kaori caught on to her cue, "I mean, I thought that it would be more, uh, more...I dunno. It was not really what I thought it would be. I don't mean to offend you."

Sakaki smiled, "I understand what you are trying to say. One kiss can tell a lot. It is probably better you don't feel anything."

Kaori nodded, "I think so, too."

Elsewhere, Yomi was sitting on her bed awkwardly letting her eyes wonder about. Chihiro was standing in the middle of her room with her arms crossed nervously. She was constantly lifting her head up trying to say something. A few times she let a syllable out, but not anything Yomi could make sense of.

Yomi tried to make Chihiro feel comfortable enough to speak, but it was hard enough to make her feel steady if she herself did not. A slight sigh escaped the her. Chihiro lifted her head up and finally spoke, "Sorry."

Yomi immediatly looked at her, "No, don't worry about it, take your time."

"I came here to talk to you, but I-I just don't know what I wanted to talk about." Chihiro let her hands flop to down onto her sides.

Yomi tried to reassure her friend again, "Don't punish yourself, we aren't in any hurry."

"But I feel like we are." Chihiro countered sadly.

"Well, then, let's start with that at then," Yomi kindly suggested, "Why do you feel like there is a hurry?"

Chihiro went silent and bit her lip.

Yomi could clearly see that Chihiro knew exactly what she came to talk about, but not being a psychologist Yomi feared to force anything out of her.

"Yomi..." Chihiro said.

"Hm?" Yomi responded casually.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to tell anybody."

With a bit of excitement growing inside her, Yomi nodded. She knew that it dealt with Kaori and perhaps her feelings towards her, but Yomi was still curious as to the exact depth of the feelings.

"Now, I-you especially can't tell Kaorin or anyone who may interact with her, like stupid Tomo, but..." Chihiro stretched her arms in upwards nervously and sucked in a deep hissing breath between her gritted teeth, "I...I am not sure, but I kinda think that maybe I might ya know..."Chihiro squeaked her last words out, "have a thing for Kaorin."

"Ah!!" Yomi shouted and jumped up.

Chihiro stepped back to the reaction of the excited girl, "Huh?"

Yomi has her hands squeezed together tightly and was bobbing up and down, "Hehehe, I didn't mean to do that, I'm just a little excited."

"Why?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, Chihiro, but I kinda had an idea."

Slightly embarrassed the small girl looked down.

"Don't feel bad about it, I only got the idea because of things you told me. I mean, if you told anyone else that is a different story."

"I didn't. I only told you." Chihiro said still recovering from the stress of telling her secret.

Yomi began rambling on with her new happy high fueling her words, "This is great news. maybe we can put a fix to-"

Chihiro cut Yomi off mid sentence, "Osaka!"

The ecstatic girl's face turned to a worried and serious look when Chihiro mentioned that name.

"Osaka knows! I almost forgot."

"What are you saying?" Yomi began to grow nervous.

"When I was at the movie theater, Osaka confronted me and said she knew about me, Sakaki and Kaorin. I don't know how she knew, but it has been worrying me ever since."

"Damnit!" Yomi shouted.

"What's wrong?" Chihiro asked.

The girl angrily sat down on her bed and placed her head on one of her palms, "Osaka is what is wrong. She confronted me, too."

"Oh, how did she find out about all of this?" Chihiro question, hoping that perhaps Yomi could fill her in.

"She said that she has been observing us."

"Like lab rats or something? For her her own entertainment?" Chihiro was beginning to feel a bit angered.

"Not, really. I guess she has nothing better to do, I am not sure. When she came to me, though, she said she wanted to help end Tomo's confusion." Yomi looked down.

"She said something similar to me. Maybe she really does care."

"I think so, but I yelled at her." Yomi guiltily admitted.

The short girl was becoming more and more interested with each word Yomi spoke, "Why? I mean I can kinda understand that she is nosey, but what did she say?"

"Ok, I will just say it, for the sake that you told me your personal secret. I like Tomo." Yomi seemed a bit frustrated, but not aat Chihiro, at herself.

"Wow." There was no better response.

"Yes, I know, we are, like, complete opposites."

"Not to mention she is more than annoying." Chihiro slapped her hand over her mouth realizing what she had just said, "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it is true, there are times I would like to slap the sense out of her, but...that is just another reason I find her so...cute." Yomi blushed a bit.

"Tomo..." Chihiro was trying to hold in a laugh.

Yomi looked at her. She remembered that she was dealing with Chihiro. As much as she looked like a short haired Kaori, she was a much bolder girl.

"Well, Chihiro, you know what?" Yomi said with a sudden smile

Chihiro was still giggling softly, "What's up?"

"I think that Osaka is right. I should apologize to her and we should see about getting everything back in order."


	21. An Apology

I am almost done with this story. The last chapters should be headed up up soon. Then I can rest easy with this story being complete!

* * *

Chapter 21: An Apology

Yomi had felt horrible for what she had done to Osaka for too long. Every step she took towards Osaka's residence made her feel a bit more relieved. Earlier, she tried calling her to apologize and meet up, but Osaka did not answer and Yomi could only assume it was from the bitterness that lingered between them. Chihiro asked tried calling from her phone after asking Yomi for the number. Osaka then answered explaining that she was out with Kagura and Chiyo, but would be home within minutes if she wanted to join. It seemed Osaka did not make the correlation between Yomi and Chihiro calling within minutes of each other.

The two girls walked swiftly, Yomi more than Chihiro. Chihiro was really just trying to keep up with anxious friend. Once, they were not far from the house they could see the three girls walking up as well. Yomi called out to her friends with a raised arm, she received no greeting in return.

Osaka noticed that Chihiro had brought Yomi and immediately went into her depressed cursed under her breath at Yomi's arrival. She had spent the entire day trying to make her mock girlfriend feel good about herself. Chiyo Just stared up at Kagura trying to figure out whether the word Kagura had used was appropriate.

"Ayumu, don't worry, if Yomi tries anything I have your back." Kagura reassured Osaka.

"Thanks." She responded.

"What would Yomi try to do to Osaka?" Chiyo asked, "Nothing violent, right?"

"I don't know anymore, she's been hanging around with Chihiro a lot and we all know what Chihiro did. I'm just not sure anymore who is our friend."

"Kagura...That makes me so sad to hear." Chiyo responded wiping her eyes.

"It's part of life, Chiyo, friends come and go and sometimes they take a little bit of you when they decide to exit your life."

The trio stood in place as they watched Yomi and Chihiro approach. The closer Yomi came to them, the more clear their displeased faces became. It became apparent that Kagura as well as Chiyo had taken sides with Osaka. She was not surprised to see either one on her side. Kagura had gone along with a psuedo-relation that Yomi saw as stupid and Chiyo was easily bought with bribes, plus she was not aware of the full situation.

Yomi didn't know what to say, so instead Chihiro began awkwardly, "Hey, guys what's going on?"

"I'll tell ya what's goin' on Chihiro, ya didn't tell me that Yomi was comin' with ya'." Osaka said with a peeved tone.

Yomi knew that they were unaware of Chihiro's knowledge of the fight she had with Osaka and tried to use that as a way to get an apology in later on, "Why do you seem so upset Osaka? Chihiro didn't do anything wrong, she just thought that it would be nice for us all to hang out together."

Kagura unknowingly doused Yomi's plans, "Well, Chihiro, Yomi here Yelled at my sweet Ayumu for no reason. I was there to see it. It was horrible and monstrous."

"What the hell!" Yomi thought, "they are trying to win her over, too! This isn't right even if Osaka was correct in her assumption I wasn't THAT mean."

"Hey!" Yomi yelled, "I wasn't monstrous or horrible."

"Well, ya were pretty uncarin'!" Osaka growled back.

"I think it was 'uncarin'' of you two to get in my business."

"She was trying to help you!" Kagura rebutted.

"I think it is you two who need help. Pretending to be a couple? You only do it because you can't get a boyfriends. So you have to pretend to be girlfriends, when there are people like me who actually have to work to get a-"

"Bitch!" Kagura shouted as she punched Yomi straight in the cheek then ran off.

Yomi's glasses flew off to the ground. Her vision was blurred and for a second she was befuddled trying to comprehend what had taken place. Chihiro picked her glasses up and handed them to her then grasped onto arm to help her sustain balance. Yomi felt blood flowing from inside her mouth. Her cheek broke against her teeth. She spit the liquid out. It stopped within seconds.

"What happened?" Yomi asked Chihiro.

"I'm not sure, but I think you struck a chord in both of them with your rant. Osaka started crying and ran off just before Kagura punched you."

"She doesn't joke around with her punches." Yomi held her hand up to her face.

Chiyo was still standing where she had been for the entire arguement, but a bit frightened, "Are all my friends going end up hating each other?"

Yomi had to comfort her she couldn't let a her previous statement go without are reassurance, "No, Chiyo, we are just going through a hard time now."

* * *

Kagura appraoched Osaka who was crying just around the corner from her house, "Ayumu, are you ok?"

She looked up to Kagura, "Yomi is right."

"No, she isn't don't listen to her."

"No, Kagura, she is right. That is why I went along with being your girlfriend. I can't get a boyfriend and I never could when I tried. I was goin' along 'cause I liked the attention from someone at least pretending to care about me in a more intimate way. At times it almost felt real."

Kagura frowned and sat down next to Osaka. Then place her arm around her.

"Kagura, I need ta tell you somethin' about myself."

"Huh?" Kagura felt something big coming her way.

"It took place in during freshman year. It was at the end of the first month of school that a boy in another class asked me out. I, of course accepted the offer, but when I arrived at the place for our date he never showed up. The next day he blamed me and said I went to the wrong place. He made me beg ta reschedule. I went again, I waited for hours then he showed up and apologized for his tardiness. I saw him for only ten minutes then he left 'cause it was late. I suppose he showed up for the last ten minutes the second time to lead me on 'cause on the next day he asked me out again.

When I arrived to the meeting place I found an envelope from him and opened it. Inside, was a very cruel letter insultin' my intelligence annd mannerisms. It finally claimed that it was my destiny to never find a lover. He lead me on for weeks just to play a cruel joke and ever since no boy has even thought about asking me out despite my efforts. I think that they think I'm weird or stupid or somthin'. Am I really that undesirable?" Osaka had tears in hear eyes by the time she finished her story. Kagura could tell that she was reall hurt and saw why she ran off from Yomi.

"Why didn't you tell anyone before now, Ayumu?" Kagura asked in concern.

"It was too embarrassing."

"No, never hide stuff like that from me or any of your friend we will always help you with you troubles."

Osaka slightly smiled.

Kagura continued on her rant, "And, that boy deserves nothing less than death if he messes with my little Ayumu." Kagura said, "You remember the reason I asked you in the first place right?"

Osaka thought for a second and responded, with a more upbeat tone, "You told me that it'd make my life more eventful or somthin' like that."

"Right, well, it worked because of you. My life would not be nearly as fun if you weren't in it and I don't care if people, including Yomi, think we are a real couple, a fake couple or just plain weird. Not every girl needs a boyfriend anyway some just need another really cool and fun girl to be with. Maybe both of us are that type of girl. What do you think?"

"I suppose." Osaka agreed sniffling and wiping tears dried tears away from her red eyes, "Say, Kagura. Can ya do me a favor?"

Kagura nodded.

"Don't tell anyone what I told ya."

"Deal everything here will be a secret."

Osaka blushed, "Everything?"

Kagura nodded again.

"Well, then Kagura, I was wondering if ya could give me a small kiss or something. Ya know, as, like, mock-girlfriends and 'cause I have never felt one before. Though, If ya don't want ta, it is ok. I don't want ya to feel uncomfortable or anything."

Kagura made an awkward face and scratched the back of her head. She was not sure if she wanted to go through with the favor even if it would be kept secret from everyone. She had not been kissed before and she could not deny the fact that she was curious to the feeling of one.

Osaka could see that her friend was struggling and decided to take the pressure off, "It's ok, we can take it slow or not even progress ta that stage."

"I'm sorry Ayumu, I'm not ready for that type of thing. Not with a boy or a girl. I will promise you, though, when I am ready my first kiss will be with you."

"Your a good girlfriend, Kagura." Osaka said leaning onto Kagura's chest, Kagura accepting Osaka willingly.

Kagura, with her arm still wrapped around Osaka, rubbed on her small girlfriends arm for comfort, "You, too."

Just around the corner that couple was cuddling, Chihiro, Yomi and Chiyo were walking up. Chihiro was leading the way and Yomi stayed in the back with Chiyo keeping her calm. Quickly, Chihiro turned around to her friends and silently motioned to stop watching. She had caught sight of Kagura and Osaka on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Yomi whispered.

"They are right around the corner." Chihiro whispered back.

"Ok, butter them up or something. I have to apologize, especially after what I said."

"I'll try," Chihiro then peeped around the corner, "Oh, there you guys are."

The two looked up at Chihiro.

"Sorry about everything, I didn't mean to bring up any harsh feelings between you guys."

"It wasn't your fault, Chihiro, it was Yomi's." Osaka said.

"Still, she feels very sorry about what she did." Chihiro responded trying to bring out the lighter side of the two girls she was preparing for Yomi.

"Which part? The part where she yelled at Ayumu or the part where she insulted both of us?"

"All of it." Yomi chimed in.

Everyone turned to Yomi, "I'm sorry Osaka, I was wrong to yell at you and I was wrong to insult you and Kagura. Also, you were completely right about me and Tomo. I was too embarrassed and scared to admit it, though."

"Really? I was right." Osaka perked up, "I'm not a failure then and everyone can end up happy."

"What are you talking about?" Yomi questioned.

"Never mind Yomi, we need to fix what Tomo has started." Osaka then noticed the bruise on Yomi's swollen cheek, "Oh, Yomi, what happened to your face?"

"I did it." Kagura raised her hand guiltily.

"Kagura!" Osaka scolded.

"No, I deserve it Osaka." Yomi defended Kagura.

"It'll heal." Kagura smiled sheepishly.


	22. The Night Before

I updated really fast on purpose...Why? Well, I figured it would be nice for me to actually update for once. Hahahah. Oh, also, since I usually take so long between chapters. I need to go back and skim a few to make sure I stay accurate. Well, I made a mistake recently. I didn't explain why in chapter 19 Chihiro was still with Yomi after she confessed her love for Kaori! Maybe some of you caught on and filled it in as a sleepover maybe some of you didn't, but I don't feel right letting that mistake go. I attempted, note I said attempted, to fill it in, I hope you enjoy this new chapter, though!

* * *

Chapter 22: The Night Before

"Ow...ow..." Tomo repeated as she poked at the bandage on her head. She was bored, sitting with her legs scrunched against her chest, alone. Her room was kept pitch dark by keep keeping a black bed sheet pinned up over the blinds that already blocked the sunlight. It was evening, though, and nothing was distinguishable inside her area. Every so often she would pick her phone up an press a key to illuminate her room about as much as a nightlight would. She didn't look at the digital clock on her phone, the time was of no concern to her.

She looked at her phone call history on her cell. No one had called her since she fought with Yomi the previous day. She had herself convinced that she was the most hated person amongst her group. It seemed her plan to help Kaori had acted like a knife being twisted into her so slowly that her mere optimism acted as a painkiller until it was too late. She could not pull the knife out and would have to live with her mistake.

"I'm such an idiot." Tomo whispered as her eyes began to swell with tears, "Now, Yomi hates me and Chihiro despises me. Kaori probably feels the same after what happened yesterday. Kagura just made fun of my mistake...No one even tried to defend me. It's all my fault, too."

Silent tears trickled down Tomo's cheeks. Her phone's back light dimmed down and the room returned to it's darkened state. She threw her phone to the floor feeling as if even her objects were abandoning her. It lit up again and Tomo could see the back of her phone laying on the floor alongside it's main body. She was surprised that the battery did not fly out as well. In a way it angered her. She wanted the object to go through more punishment.

Tomo got up off of her bed and walked over to her phone. She kicked it to the wall. The battery still did not fly out. She was intending on making the cell end up feeling as horrible as she felt. Instead of relying on her leg strength, she picked up the phone. Tomo readied herself for a beamer towards the wall, but it began playing her ringtone almost as if it were screaming for it's very life. A sadistic smile spread across her face, but she did not throw the victim. Her phone had been punished enough and she wanted to she who was calling her.

"Hello" Tomo answered, masking her emotions.

"Hi, Tomo?" Kaori responded.

"Kaori! What's up?" Tomo was glad to here a familiar voice. She felt like she had at least one friend.

"Tomo, I have never done what I am about to do, so please forgive me if I do it wrong."

"Do what wrong?"

Kaori spoke fast and nervously, tensing up on the other end of the line, "We need to break-up."

"So, you want to end the relationship, huh?" Tomo replied, feeling with an ounce of hope reviving inside her. Perhaps Kaori had decided to finally pursue the girl in the diary, Sakaki.

"Yeah, I hope there are no hard feelings, Tomo."

"No, it's fine. So you find any new girl by chance?" Tomo asked, still holding back her emotions.

"Sadly, no."

"What about Sakaki?" Tomo asked with her teeth clenched.

"Tomo, I need to be honest..I know that you tried to hook me up with Sakaki. At first, I didn't, but I know now. I appreciate the thought, but it was bit much and..." Kaori didn't know what else to say, she was unsure how to describe the efforts of her friend.

Tomo went silent. She, too, tensed up, but not for the same reason as Kaori. She was trying to keep a smile on her face to avoid letting her tears break out. They had been wanting to escape for awhile, but after hearing that Kaori did not want to be with Sakaki despite the entire scheme to get them together.

"Tomo? Are you there?" Kaori questioned the sudden silence, she then heard a loud bang and the phone line went silent.

Tomo was looking down at the remains of her phone. Instead of trying to hold everything in any longer, she ran back to her bed and reflected on the reason she was alone. The more she dwelled on her situation the louder she wept and the lonelier she felt not having a friend to be with. Everything felt so much more painful knowing that she had failed to connect Sakaki and Kaori. She had sacrificed not only her feelings, but her friends' feelings as well.

* * *

"How did it go?" Sakaki asked Kaori as she entered the room.

"I don't know." Kaori responded, frantically trying to call Tomo back, "She seemed like she took it well, but she went silent and I can't get a hold of her now. Her phone won't even ring, it goes to voice mail."

"Oh, uh, don't worry too much. Tomo probably, uh, just dropped her phone or something, she tends to do that a lot. Just leave a message she'll call back when she gets it. Tomo is so irresponsible with her cell phone, I'm sure it wasn't you."

Sakaki rubbed the back of her neck, "So how do you feel with the weight off of your back?"

"It feels better, but I still have some things to settle." Kaori was thinking of the fight with Chihiro, but she did not want to tell Sakaki fearing that it may make her feel guilty.

"Oh. If you need any moral support, I am here for you."

"Thanks, Sakaki, but, I think I should try to solve this problem alone." Kaori responded in a more self-confident voice.

Sakaki smiled.

* * *

Later that night, Kagura watched with great amusement as Yomi and Chihiro struggled to stay awake. Chihiro's eyes closed and her head tilted forward then popped back up when she noticed her failing posture. Yomi did the same. Chiyo was already asleep as expected. She usually was the first to go when it came to staying awake all night.

"HEYA!" Kagura shouted at the two to amuse herself.

Both of them jumped awake upon hearing the shout.

"What's up?" Chihiro mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

"Chiyo invites us over for a sleepover so we can plan out what to say to Tomo and you two fall asleep...thrilling."Kagura let out a puff of air after she finished her sarcastic rant.

"Sorry, Kagura" Yomi yawned, "It's just that last night we where awake all night talking about stuff."

"Ah, are ya'll a couple, too?" Osaka asked.

Yomi answered smugly, "No, we were talking about things unrelated to the situation at hand...sorta unrelated."

"Yeah, I was trying to get my feelings in order." Chihiro said with closed eyes.

Kagura seemed intrigued, "Feelings, eh? Chihiro, what was wrong tell us! We are at a sleep over and all, isn't that what girls do at these things? Or is that what boys do? Who gives a damn, just tell me!"

Chihiro began to nod off and Kagura could see Chihiro's secret flying off into dreamland. She lept over to the girl and shook her awake, "Tell me!"

"Don't shake her like that, Kagura." Osaka said, then continued in a more devious tone "we gotta be more extreme!"

Kagura stopped shaking her and looked at Osaka holding Sakaki's cat, Maya.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Chihiro shouted upon seeing the cat.

Both of the interrogators paused in their action. Osaka placed the small cat back on the ground.

Chihiro continued, "I don't mind telling anyone...well, at least not anymore. Once I told Yomi, I realized it wasn't so hard," Kagura and Osaka leaned in towards Chihiro,"but the news is that I like Kaorin."

"Cool." Osaka commented.

"Wow, I never would have guess...well, that's a lie. You did spend a lot of time with her AND you did try to punch Tomo in the face when she kissed her. By the way, You really pack a punch! I don't know if I could have done better myself."

Chihiro blushed, "Well, you did do a number on Yomi."

"Oh...yeah, Did I apologize for that yet? I can't remember."

"Can't now, we lost Yomi ta the sandman." Osaka joked.

"Well, anyway let's discuss, what happens with Tomo. It would be nice if it could end nice and smooth, possibly with me and Kaorin together. Also, can you guys do me a favor?"

The girls nodded simultaneously.

"Well, could you call Kaorin, Kaori instead...I kinda called her that and it was, like, you know, the thing we had together." Chihiro blushed further at her explanation.

To ease Chihiro's obvious discomfort, Kagura answered her in english with a thumbs up, "NO FU-RIKIN' WAY!"

"What did you say?" Chihiro questioned.

"Miss Yukari taught it to me. I asked her one day if she would teach me how to say yes in english slang. She responded with that."

"How do ya know she didn't trick ya?" Osaka asked.

"Miss Yukari wouldn't do that to me. I'm one of her favorite students."

"Oh, Cool. I'll keep that one in mind." Chihiro said tapping her head slightly, "Ok, then since you two got that out of me. I have a question for you! Why are you two dating? We all know that it is pretend."

Kagura and Osaka looked at each other. Kagura decided to answer, "Easy, because I wanted an interesting life. I noticed everything interesting happening to Tomo since she got with a girl, so I did it. Though, even after one day of being with her I feel...different."

Chihiro giggled, "I see. You want to protect her?"

"H-how did you know?" Kagura asked with a shakey voice.

"I saw you two earlier sitting together. She was resting on you and you had you arm around her." Chihiro explained, "That's very sweet and it look authentic to me."

Osaka's eyes lit up, "So, when I was restin' on Kagura we looked like more than friends?"

"To me you did."

"I-I need to use the bathroom." Kagura suddenly blurted out before running out of the room.

"That was odd" Osaka commented.

Chihiro got up from the floor and walked towards the door, "I'll go see if she is ok."

Once at the bathroom door, Chihiro could hear water running from inside the bathroom. Kagura was inside splashing cold water on her face.

"Are you ok?" Chihiro knocked.

"I made a mistake."

"What kind of mistake? What's wrong?"

"Dammit, I need to end that pretend relationship. I just can't do something like that! Please don't tell Ayumu!"

"Is she ok?" Osaka asked worried about Kagura.

Chihiro turned to her and paused for a second thinking of what to say. She didn't want to lie, but she couldn't think of anything else, "She's fine."


	23. Final: United

I'll talk after the chapter this time enjoy!

* * *

Final Chapter: United

"Hey, Chihiro, Ayumu." Kagura greeted as she entered Chiyo's room.

The girls looked up at Kagura, Parts of her hair were damp.

"What took ya so long, Kagura, and why are ya so sweaty?" Osaka asked.

"It's water, Ayumu. I just wanted to clean up a bit."

"Oh, so, you want to share a futon since we are girlfriends."

Kagura quickly responded, "NO...I mean, no, isn't that a little fast. We only hooked up yesterday, Ayumu. Hehe."

Osaka looked down sadly,"Oh...I guess. What about a good night hug, though, since you're not ready for me ta kiss ya?"

Kagura nervously rubbed the back of her neck, "Sure, I don't see any harm in that."

Osaka went in for her hug, but Kagura barely wrapped her arms around her. Chihiro saw the sad excuse for the hug and cringed thinking of what Kagura told her, She wanted the night to end, "Say, maybe we should all go to bed now!"

"Yeah, I'm tired." Kagura agreed and retreated to her futon.

Osaka went to her futon and Chihiro turned off the light. Chihiro stumbled to her bit as she walked. It was difficult to see in the dark and she tripped over Osaka. Her friend grunted slight in pain and Chihiro caught herself before she fell to the ground.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine."

Kagura snickered, "Be more careful you two."

* * *

The following morning arrived and the girls went to school together. They had agreed to confront Tomo and talk with her during lunch, but Tomo did not show up to school. Her sat empty and the girls felt a bit discouraged. The hastily made plans where falling apart just as quickly as they were made. It was only that morning that the girls thought of how to talk with Tomo since they were too tired the previous night.

When lunch time came around the girls went to the roof to eat. Sakaki was a bit late and showed up with Kaori. Though, Kaori begged Sakaki to leave with her and did so. Her anger still held strong against her friend and she was not up to eating with Chihiro. Sakaki barely got a chance to greet her friends before she left with Kaori, who begged her to leave without telling why. Everyone else found it quite convenient to have her with Kaori so they did not have to explain the situation to her.

Kagura angrily slammed her fist on her lap, "Shoot! Yomi, she's closest to you of all of us. What do you think she ditching for?"

Everyone looked at Yomi. They knew that she might know something they didn't.

"I don't know." Yomi responded guiltily. Her eyes drifted off.

Chiyo decided to take a voice in the situation despite her minimal knowledge of the goings on. Though, she could not help but point out Yomi's guilt, "Yomi, I don't know much of what is going on here, but I have taken a back seat long enough." Everyone shifted their attention to the little girl as she continued to speak, "I hate seeing my friends fight, it hurts me, but I saw your eyes shifting and I know you are hiding something that may help us in this delicate situation."

"Chiyo-chan is right," Osaka agreed, "I don't want to blame ya, but I do know that ya with hold info sometimes."

Yomi sat silent with a guilty expression. She was partly responsible for Tomo's behavior because of the way she confused Tomo with the kiss that she gave her. It was embarrassing for her to tell, but she knew if she did not Tomo may be the one to take all the blame. It was scary, as well, for her. She did not want Chihiro to know that Kaori would have virgin lips still, if it were not for her impulsive behavior.

Chiyo began to grow impatient, "Yomi, please! I know you are holding something from us. I just want this to end as soon as possible."

"Don't rush me!" Yomi scolded.

Chiyo wanted to cry. She had not been yelled at by any of her friends in such a way, but she kept a strong face on. She had dealt with enough and was not ready to step down.

"Don't yell at Chiyo!" Kagura yelled at Yomi.

"Your right Kagura," Yomi apologized, "sorry Chiyo. I didn't mean it."Yomi then looked at Chihiro, "Chihiro I apologize to you, as well."

"Why?" Chihiro asked.

"I'm the reason Tomo kissed Kaori." Yomi revealed.

"What?" She said a bit distressed, "I don't understand."

Yomi looked away from Chihro guiltily, "I um...I kissed Tomo on Friday, she didn't know I was going to do it either. Knowing Tomo, she probably tried to rationalize my behavior. I heard her talking about a test or something that I gave her. I know now she meant that kiss. I don't know kissing Kaori came out to be the correct answer, but I know it was my fault she got confused."

Chihiro put her hand over her mouth for a second and turned away. She took a deep breath and let it out, "Yomi..."

"Chihiro, I'm sorry."

"No, Yomi, it's ok, It was Tomo who kissed Kaori. She probably would have done it eventually anyway." Chihiro smiled weakly.

"Wow," Osaka butted in, "No wonder Tomo didn't come today. She is probably really confused especially after that fight you had with her."

"Don't rub it in." Yomi said to Osaka as she adjusted her glasses.

Osaka smiled and walked over to Kagura, "Hey, Kagura."

Kagura looked away nervously, "Hi, Ayumu. What's up?"

"I didn't get to give you today." Osaka went in for a hug, but was stopped by a sudden force on her chest. It was Kagura's hand holding her back, "Ow..oh, Kagura. What's gotten into ya today? Wouldn't ya say it's a bit fast to start doing that sorta thing."

"No, Ayumy, " Kagura clenched her teeth and swiftly thought of a reason that she would stop her hug, "I-I'm sick. I don't want you to catch my cold."

"Really," Chiyo asked, "I haven't heard you sneeze once today and you look fine to me."

Kagura clenched her fist, her excuse was dying, "I lied...I don't have a cold. Really, I have to throw up and I didn't want to throw up on you Ayumu. I was just about to go to the bathroom anyway."

Kagura ran off the roof inside the school.

"I should go support her." Osaka said begriming to walk after her.

Chihiro shouted at Osaka before she could take another step, "NO!" Everyone looked at her oddly, "I'll go, Osaka you should stay here and uh, look at her lunch. Inspect it for an expiration date."

"Chihiro, your joking right?" Osaka replied.

Chihiro couldn't betray Kagura by breaking a promise, but she did want to tell Osaka that Kagura was uncomfortable in the relationship that recently formed, "Yup, joking. Go follow her."

Osaka ran after Kagura. Once she had left Yomi turned to Chihiro, "What was that about? Did I miss something last night."

"Yes, you missed, too, much! I don't know what to do. Kagura told me not to tell Osaka."Chihiro quickly explained the situation to Chiyo and Yomi.

"I thought something like that might happen. It hasn't even been a week and their destined to break apart, it will definitely hurt Osaka more than Kagura." Yomi said with her arms crossed.

"What do we do, though." Chiyo asked.

"Nothing. Kagura has to end it, she started it. It would hurt even more if she heard the news from an outside source."

"I hate this!" Chihiro stomped her foot down, "I feel so helpless. Why are there so many problems. I want Kaori, you want Tomo, Osaka wants Kaguri, Kaori wants Sakaki. Why the hell is everything so messed up?!"

"Chihiro, sometimes things are like that. Don't worry though, everything should be settled soon. We will talk to Tomo, then we will talk to Kagura, Remember Tomo and Kagura are both lacking common sense they just act on impulse. Tomo's reason's for even thinking about Kaori were benevolent. She told me that she did it to help boost her esteem because she found out about her crush on Sakaki."

"What?!" Chihiro began to pace angrily, "A stupid scheme that Tomo came up with caused all of this? All of this emotional torture was cause by your stupid Tomo and you are defending this?"Chihiro turned to Yomi, "I have wanted nothing more than to be with Kaorin since the day I met her, but she had a crush on Sakaki. I didn't ask her out. Instead, I supported her in every way I could until she got what she wanted!" Chihiro looked down sadly, "I hate Tomo. She got to date Kaorin, take her first kiss and even build up her self-esteem to the point that she and Sakaki are going out."

"Chihiro, Sakaki isn't going out with anyone." Chiyo corrected.

"What?"

"Sakaki, doesn't like girls. She is just friends with Kaori." Chiyo explained.

Yomi solidified the claim, "It's true, Chihiro."

Chihiro was gleaming with joy, "So, Sakaki, isn't into-"

The two girls nodded.

"I have to go patch things up." Chihiro ran to the exit. She knew that Kaori was in the cafeteria eating with Sakaki, it was the only other place she would be. As she ran, she tried to think of an apology, but nothing came to mind.

Sakaki and Kaori sat together, laughing and talking unknowing that Chihiro was right behind them. She was slowly approaching, a bit shaky at the thought of possibly getting her wish, "Kaorin."

Kaori didn't turn around, "What, Chihiro? I'm still angry at you so make it quick."

"Please, don't be angry at me, Kaorin."

"Why? I can be angry if I want." Kaori turned around.

Sakaki, watched the two girls trying not to get involved with their dispute.

"I'm sorry, Kaorin." Chihiro apologized.

"No, I don't accept. After the fight at the theater you decide to punch me in the middle of class. You see my face. It will scar!" Kaori was stubborn.

"What will make you forgive me?" Chihiro asked.

Kaori thought a second and responded, "Time..."

"Huh?"Chihiro wasn't sure what she meant, "You want time apart?"

Kaori was not willing to give in so easily. She wanted to lead Chihiro on a bit, "I need time to heal my wounds, then I need to heal from the trauma. I don't even know how long that will take. Unless you are magic and can bring me back in time. Getting hit in the face is not fun especially when your best friend does it. I have bad memories attached with them now."

Chihiro looked down sadly, "Fine, "she began to walk away, then thought of something, "Wait! Kaorin!"

"What, Chihiro?" Kaori asked frustrated.

"I can't go back in time, but I can speed it up!" Chihiro ran back to Kaori.

"Let me see the cuts. Give me your head."

Kaori was curious about her friend. She place her head in Chihiro's hand, "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm going to erase the scars." Chihiro lightly ran her finger over the cut on Kaori's nose and cheek. The students in the cafeteria noticed the display and watched silently.

"This is weird, Chihiro." Kaori commented as her cheeks began to blush.

Chihiro closed her her and leaned in a bit. She gently kissed the two cuts on Kaori's face. Then she finished by kissing her friend on the lips. Kaori did not resist the soft lips.

Sakaki gulped.

Chihiro held the soft kiss for a ten seconds and leaned out. Everyone in the Cafeteria was silent.

"Kaorin," Chihiro spoke, "I hope your cuts don't still have bad memories attached because I want to be your girlfriend. What do you say?"

Kaori could not speak. She was beat red and breathless, but she nodded her head and stood up. Then she fell into Chihiro's arms for a hug. All the students in the cafeteria kept their attention on the two girls until the silence was broken by a sudden shout of adoration, "That is so cute!"

Miss Yukari was standing at the entrance of the cafeteria, "I didn't know you two had a thing for each other. Ah,,,high school love. So, cute, well...I hope you REALLY like each other 'cuz I gotta give you two detention. No Public Displays of Affection."

Chihiro sighed and quietly accepted the two slips. One for her and one for Kaori, who was still sitting in shock. The detention was a small price to pay since she finally got her wish.

* * *

After school had ended Yomi went searching for Chihiro, but could not find her. She found out about how Chihiro made up with Kaori from Miss Yukari and various rumors that were sprouting.

"They are in detention. Miss Yukari gave it to them." Sakaki said to Yomi.

"At least they are together finally. It makes it easier on me knowing that some of the situation solved itself." Yomi responded.

"I guess. Am I needed to talk to Tomo about anything?"

"No, actually I think it would be nice if you take Chiyo somewhere. I don't want too much going on or something may start up again." Yomi was reminded of another situation, "Also, just to prevent any trouble, Kagura and Osaka aren't doing very well in their-"

Sakaki interrupted Yomi, "Don't worry about that Yomi, I knew it would happen, Kagura asked me first actually. I denied her for a reason." I have no clue why Osaka even accepted. I'm guessing for fun."

"Actually, Osaka really wants it to work with Kagura and Kagura is trying to weasel out."

Sakaki slightly nodded, "I see, well, I will go get Chiyo and get ice cream. I've been craving it all day. So I suppose you are going to see Tomo alone then?"

"It appears that way... Well, I'm going to see her now. See ya Sakaki."

"Bye, Yomi."

The girls parted ways in the school yard. Both of them secretly panicking about the well being of the friendship shared by everyone. It was slowly piecing itself back together with the aid of the girls' planning. Still, the foundation that once held six friends was hastily broken and repaired. Secrets and shaky relationships still lingered and everyone feared the worst.

It was not long before Yomi had reached Tomo's house. She rarely headed over to the house since Tomo made it customary to meet at Yomi's due to the easy window access. Tomo had a second floor bedroom which was not typical for a anyone to climb into threw the window.

Yomi took a long look at the house then walked up towards the door. She knocked loud so that Tomo was sure to hear. Tomo's parents were not home so her ruckus did not disturb them. Moments later the door opened revealing Tomo. She was not sick, but she had a pale appearance.

"Tomo? You don't look very good." Yomi said.

Tomo responded rudely and energetic despite her zombie-like appearance, "Yomi...go away. I don't want to talk to you."

"I want to talk, Tomo."

"So do I, but not to you. I want to talk to someone who won't yell at me when I try to impress her. Someone like...Chiyo, Sakaki, Osaka, Kagura, anyone but you."

Yomi didn't answer, She looked at her Tomo's head. There was no bandage on it anymore. It appeared as if it was almost getting infected, "Your head..."

"What about it." Tomo snarled.

"It's getting infected, can't you take care of yourself? Do you need me that bad?"

"No, I was just about to do something about it." Tomo crossed her arms.

"Fine, then. I'll just leave." Yomi turned around and before she could even take one step Tomo shouted.

"NO! Don't I want to talk to you. I'm, bored."

"HA! I knew you wouldn't let me go so easily."

Tomo invited Yomi inside the house. She wanted Yomi to fix up her wound as they shared a few words in the kitchen.

"You won't hurt me will you?" Tomo asked shying away from the ointment on Yomi's finger.

"When was the last time I hurt you while doing this, Tomo?" Yomi asked.

"Never, you always were very careful with me."

"You never were very carful with yourself." Yomi giggled.

"Your right." Tomo closed her eyes as Yomi applied the ointment, "Anyway, I'm really glad you showed up. I have wanted to talk with you for a bit now, but I thought everyone hated me. When we fought on the roof everyone heard about what I did and I thought they got angry."

Yomi turned the water on to wash her hands, "Tomo, your imagination gets carried away all the time. No one hates you. Chihiro did, though, but not anymore. Also, Tomo, that um...kiss I gave you was not a test."

Tomo looked up at Yomi, "So then, why would you kiss me?"

Yomi sighed as she she place a new bandage over Tomo's injury, "Think of the most obvious reason I would do something like that, dope. We have known each other for a very long time and I well...I have fallen for you. I'm sorry to have forced my feelings on you, though, I shouldn't have taken advantage of you."

"It's ok." Tomo smiled.

"Wait, it's ok?" Yomi was stunned at the casual response.

"Yup, I like you Yomi. I was afraid at first, but then I realized that you really are the girl I should be with. All the guys don't like me because I am, too, cool-"

"You mean annoying?" Yomi interjected as she applied the bandage.

"Same thing, Anyway, If I like your kisses then I guess it is meant to be. I got really sad, though when I thought you hated me. I even broke my phone, but that was yesterday, and this is today."

"Tomo, you are a trip, depressed for a day thrilled the next. What was with that little act at the door, though?"

"You said I didn't look good, that isn't nice, I thought you were trying to fight more. I couldn't say no to you, though."

"Really?" Yomi asked.

"Never." Tomo grinned.

"Then, will you be my girlfriend?"

"No."

"But you-"

"Kidding!" Tomo laughed, then pounced onto Yomi with her lips pressed onto her new girlfriends'. Yomi lost her balance and fell to the floor, "I love how you always look after me. You even broke my fall!"

"That wasn't me looking out for you...that was luck."Yomi said rubbing her butt.

END!

* * *

Ok, So I will assume that you read the chapter and did not skip hear to see what I had to say. Anyway, I am so glad that I finished it finally! My longest fanfic ever. What? Kagura and Osaka? Oh, yeah, what was up with them? Well, I decided since their little relationship was kinda sprouted separate from the main focus of this fic that I will give them a fic of their own. It may not be like as long as this one, but it will be up soon enough. I wonder what will happen to them.

Btw, thanks for bearing with me...Shoot. me and my slow updates. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you read the next conclusion of Osaka and Kagura's little dispute. I will call it "A Slight Misunderstanding: Thin Love"...Don't Laugh, that is really the name!


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